Rifts: Foundations
by Sleepingbear
Summary: Foundations is the first of six novel length stories. An empire will fall, a regime will be overthrown, a hero will be martyred and the destiny of North America forever changed. But first the stage must be set and the players, great and small intoduced...
1. Ill Met

The First Adventure

**Rifts: Foundations**

**Prologue**

There are many worlds. Not only in this galaxy or even this universe but throughout the megaverse. Many of these worlds would be very familiar if you were able to visit them; like the one where the neighbor down the street didn't renovate his bathroom. Others are much stranger, like the one where the dinosaurs never died off and continued to evolve and dominate the world. Still more are somewhere in between.

The world where Dr. Matthew James lived was called Earth. The dinosaurs did die out here and humanity would eventually rise to dominance. It is a world that was much like ours until sometime into the twenty-first century. Mankind experienced an age of peace and prosperity that gave rise to a technological revolution centered on the concept of human augmentation. Between the twenty-sixties and twenty-nineties, it was widely believed that the Age of Aquarius had finally come to pass as predicted by ancient astrological beliefs and astronomical observations.

But the celestial bodies had something other than the age of wonder and hope that seemed to be dawning on this world in store. As the century drew to a close, catastrophe struck during a planetary alignment. Heralded by war and soon followed by pestilence, famine and death; the world was forever transformed. By nuclear fire, massive flooding, erupting volcanoes, earthquakes and storms of every kind the world tore itself apart. The life energy of hundreds of millions of people were released, sacrificed on the alter of change.

Long dormant magical ley lines brought to life by the celestial grouping surged with the power of the deaths of untold innocents. Blue eldritch energy wrapped around the tiny world, wrapping it in a web of powerful mystic energy. A force unknown to modern man had returned. A part of nature once scorned as flights of children's fantasy had forcefully established its existence in humanities consciousness once more. And where these blue ley lines intersected they created nexus points of energy. Energy that created Rifts in time and space.

Through these tears in the fabric of reality came other beings. Aliens to this world trod its surface. Many were completely unfamiliar and strange. Others resembled creatures and demons from old myths and legends. Stories that should have served as a warning to all. But very few had any warning of this chaos. Fewer still listened.

It is perhaps fitting that the return of magic to the planet would plunge the whole world into a new dark age. And Chaos was upon the face of the Earth.

For nearly two hundred years humanity clung to survival in North America. Trying to rebuild from the ashes, man sought to reclaim lost technologies from the ruins of civilization. Slowly people began to reclaim what was once theirs. Despite many setbacks, humanity began to rise once more. This time they were not alone. The survivors had to now compete with strangers and aliens. These new arrivals were dubbed Dimensional Beings but that term was soon shortened to the derogatory, D-Bee's.

Some people learned to co-operate with these new arrivals. Some of these so-called D-Bee's brought with them knowledge of magic which they shared with the frightened natives of their new home.

Others did not welcome these new creatures nor the knowledge they brought. To these people, D-Bee's were no better than the monsters and demons that now preyed upon all. Their magic was seen as responsible for the fall of humanity. And then they came as invaders! These people grouped with others of like mind to form towns and cities. They kept to their own kind and did not share anything they had with those outside their walls. Eventually the most powerful of these city states formed a union called the Coalition States.

**Chapter One**

**Ill Met**

_Lazlo is one of two powerful cities of magic in North America—the other being Tolkeen. It is notable as the home and origin of Techno-Wizardry, a fusion of magic with technology. As such it has the largest collection of Techno-Wizards to be found anywhere. All other types of magic are commonly practiced here as well. _

_The city itself is located where the pre-cataclysm city of Toronto once stood. Like New Crater City, these are not the descendents of the original city but rather new arrivals who migrated there sometime in the last century. Originally the city was nothing more than a collection of mages and scholars who settled in the region to take advantage of the abundance of Ley Lines and Nexus points present. There is some irony that the most likely cause of the extinction of the previous city was the cause of the creation of the new community. _

_The city itself is named for a pre-cataclysm paranormal scholar, Victor Lazlo. Allegedly Erin Tarn herself had a hand in choosing the name for the magical collective. _

_The city today boasts a population of nearly one million. This does not include the surrounding communities that depend on and are allied to the city of magic. These collected communities add another quarter million people to the overall population. Perhaps half the population is human, the rest being Dimensional Beings or even some exotic creatures of magic such as Sphinxes and Dragons. Maybe as many as half the population practices some form of magic or has some other special or supernatural ability at their disposal. _

_The city is ruled by two political bodies. The first is the Congress of the Electorate, headed by a Cyber-Knight named Thomm. The second is the Council of Learning and is headed by a Great Horned Dragon named Plato. Defenses are managed by a volunteer militia that is highly trained and professional—a Dimensional Being named Arl Xzzyn. He could well be an escaped CS Dog Boy of wolf stock. _

_After careful examination of this city I would say that they are one of the major powers of North America—if it weren't for the fact that they all seem to be asleep. Or perhaps terminally naive. They have become so caught up in the quest for knowledge for its own sake that they have become blind to what they have. Just as alarming is that others are not so blind and perhaps covet what is here. More than likely the other powers that be recognize Lazlo as the sleeping giant it is and have begun making plans against this rival. _

_Ignorance is bliss, but for how long? Sometimes what you don't know can hurt you._

_-Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Matthew James_

Circa 100 P.A. (Post Apocalyptic Calendar):

While not the only new nation in North America, the Coalition States did eventually establish themselves as the most powerful. That does not stop some of the more established communities from trying to flex their muscles or spread their influence. The magical nation of Tolkeen is one such city-state that seems destined to be on a collision course with the mighty Coalition States. In contrast, quiet Lazlo hopes for peace and preaches tolerance.

All of this and more was well known to the young scholar, Dr. Matthew James. The young anthropologist was a jack of many trades. Aside from being an apt student of history, culture and mythology, the young man had a fair technical aptitude and had managed to gain some medical training. None of this even took into account military training and service he had undergone in his hometown's militia partly to pay for his extensive education and partly as civic obligation.

Despite his well earned diploma, it was private tutoring sessions he had received from his benefactors that really set him above other researchers. If his professors back in New Crater City had even known of the existence of some of the libraries he had studied in, they would have wept.

Yet for all the academic advantages he had gained, it wasn't enough. He craved yet more knowledge. That is why he found himself at a conference on geography in Lazlo. He wasn't the only one as this gathering had a celebrity guest speaker. None other than Erin Tarn herself had arrived to speak of some of the many things she had seen in her travels around North America. This was her last speaking engagement before leaving for the Vampire infested lands of Mexico.

Dr. Matthew James waited patiently in line to have his copy of "Traversing Our Modern World" signed by its famous author. While her speech had been given indoors, it was once outside those doors that she had been swamped with adoring fans. Matthew blew some black hair out of his eyes. Many in this crowd probably couldn't even read the book. That the good doctor himself looked out of place was lost on him.

Relatively safe within the borders of Lazlo, he wasn't wearing his Bushman armor that was like a second skin when he traveled. He did wear his favored leather hat. It was a mink oiled 'outback' style hat that his father had bought for him when he was a teenager. It kept the sun and rain out of his eyes when he was in the field doing research. A heavy leather trench coat also adorned his six foot, two inch frame. While not a muscle bound warrior, neither was he a frail academic.

Dark blue eyes scanned the slowly shrinking crowd ahead of him. Maybe half were full blooded humans like himself. Of those, many were no doubt magic users. As a man of learning he understood that knowledge itself was not inherently good or evil yet he couldn't quite bring himself to trust the arcane. He'd rather trust in the accuracy of his trusty NG-57 Ion pistol. Not that he had it on him at the moment. The city guard had made him turn it in at the city entrance along with his armor. Now he felt somewhat naked, surrounded by those who could not be so easily disarmed.

"Isn't it exciting?" A woman's voice joined the line behind him. "I never thought I'd ever actually get a chance to meet the legendary Erin Tarn."

Dr. James turned and took a moment to look over the new arrival. The young woman was maybe five or six years younger than he was, eighteen or so he figured. She was also about eight inches shorter than he was. Her short hair was black like his was while her eyes were a dark shade of violet. She wore a skintight black body suit shrouded by a light trench coat. Mystic symbols along the lapels spoke of a mystic talent to Matthews trained eyes. No doubt she was a recent graduate from an apprenticeship or an academy. "She is something of an inspiration." Dr. James conceded.

The young woman's eyes had been focused on the crowd, trying to steal a glimpse of the legendary scholar. After Matthew spoke, she turned them to him and took his measure. Whatever she saw in him, she appeared satisfied with it. "She's just seen and done so much, you know? I'd really like to get her alone and find out all she knows."

"Not much chance of that happening." Dr. James chuckled. "Sir Thorpe, the Cyber-Knight is always by her side and he watches her like a hawk. I'm sure he's not happy with this situation as it is. It must be a security nightmare trying to keep her safe in public like this."

"You don't think anyone would actually try to harm her, here, do you?" The young woman's eyes seemed to double in size.

The scholar shrugged. "You never know. The CS has put a rather hefty bounty on her head. Sooner or later someone's going to try and collect. But you're right, they'd have to be suicidal to try it here."

The young mage raised her brow, her eyes still wide. "Oh? Why is that?"

"Well, of course there is the issue of the impressive Sir Thorpe not to mention the rest of her entourage. But Miss Tarn has friends in the government of Lazlo and they're keeping an eye on her today." He nodded to a pair of militiamen in Urban Warrior armor walking patrol with their L-20 pulse laser rifles slung. "Those two are for show. I've seen quite a few others in the crowd who might look like a part of it if they weren't so intent on its study. That's to say nothing of the private citizens who would immediately act to protect the famous Miss Tarn—especially if it meant getting more autographs from the lady. Personally, I'd be afraid of being mobbed by this crowd for cutting line, much less attempting an assassination."

Looking around, she seemed to be digesting his words. "I guess you're right." Then she turned her attention back to him. "I'm Dale."

Tipping his hat to her, he introduced himself. "Dr. James, but my friends call me Matthew."

Dale edged up so that she was now standing beside the Doctor in line. "That so? What are you a doctor of? Cybernetics?"

He shook his head. "No, my feeble medical training is barely more than first aid. I'm an anthropologist specializing in humanoid cultures although I'm fairly knowledgeable about mythologies and have some background in history."

She seemed amused. "You don't smell like books." Her smile took a mischievous bent. "I suppose that's just as well. You wouldn't want any CS Dogboy's picking up _that_ smell on you. They don't like your type anymore than they do mine."

Dr. James shook his head. "I'd be fine in Coalition territory, so long as I didn't try and teach anyone to read or write. Or dispute their official history. Not everyone in the CS is illiterate. Their military officers, political elite and the whole upper crust of society are very well educated."

"But that's what scholars do, right?" Dale queried. "Go around teaching people stuff? Bringing the light of knowledge to the huddled masses."

"Knowledge is power." Dr. James stated coolly. "The wise share it carefully." He immediately lightened up. "The huddled masses of the Coalition are blissfully content in their ignorance. I see no reason to face torture or execution for their sake."

Dale's eyes became more serious as she re-assessed her newly met companion. "A lot of mages feel the way you do."

"And what do you think, Dale?" Dr. James regarded her carefully as he waited for her response.

She shrugged. "You're right, knowledge is power."

"If you don't mind me asking," Matthew asked after a momentary silence, "but what sort of mage are you?"

Dale smirked at her companion. "Trying to gain power over me?"

The doctor was immediately defensive. "No, not at all. Just showing a polite interest in you to keep the conversation going is all."

"A _polite_ interest?" Dale couldn't quite manage to sound offended as her smirk grew. "And here I was hoping you were into younger women."

"Well, to be perfectly honest, a scholarly type such as me is interested in any woman willing to talk to him." Dr. James chuckled.

"So what you're saying is that you're a nerd." She nodded. "That figures. An anthropologist your age is bound to be socially awkward."

Dr. James frowned. "What do you mean, an anthropologist my age?"

Shrugging, Dale answered. "When I think of anthropology, I think of old men stooped over dusty tomes smoking their pipes. It's just not a field I tend to think that a young man would be attracted to." She tilted her head and regarded him sideways for a moment. "What did make you decide to become an anthropologist?"

Dr. James adjusted his hat absentmindedly. "For the tactical advantage, of course. I studied at the New Crater City military academy."

"You're a soldier?" She shook her head. "I would never have known by looking at you. Still, I'm not sure I see why anthropology would be studied at a military academy."

"How many D-Bee species do you suppose are in North America?" Dr. James scanned the multitude of races gathered on the street.

Dale pursed her lips. "Hundreds? Thousands? I don't know."

Dr. James nodded. "Exactly. No one knows. The world was a complicated place before the coming of the Rifts when all people had to deal with was other human cultures. Now there are thousands of alien cultures to contend with as well. Those who chose to remain ignorant of how to deal with these beings are bound to find themselves in trouble."

"The Coalition has an answer." Dale grimaced. "Shoot them all and study the remains."

"It may seem like that on the surface." Dr. James agreed. "But I'd bet you dollars to donuts that the Coalition has its own scholars studying D-Bee's and their ways. They'd be fools not to. As powerful as they are, even they can't afford to just slaughter D-Bee's wholesale. Far better to learn about your enemy before dealing with them. And I didn't just study anthropology but also all sorts of lore. While I'm not a practitioner, I am up on my magic symbols and countermeasures."

"See!" Dale said in amused triumph. "You were trying to gain power over me with that question!"

"A question I notice you still haven't answered." Dr. James countered with equal amusement.

"Educated and observant." Dale said playfully. "What more could a woman ask for in a man?"

Dr. James began to tick off his fingers. "Money, muscles, looks, charm, power, fame, personality, a sense of humor…"

"I think you have humor all wired up." Dale interrupted.

"Just humor?" Dr. James tried to seem put off.

"Be happy with what you have and don't get greedy." Dale reprimanded him without malice. "That's what my mother always taught me."

"Did she also teach you magic?" Dr. James inquired, again displaying his polite interest.

"As a matter of fact, my dad did." Dale conceded. "My mom was a mage too, but I was more attracted to what my father had to teach me."

"So would that be incantations? Rituals? Perhaps you're an elementalist?" Dr. James pressed.

Dale sighed, surrendering to the doctor's persistence, "Incantations. No rituals or anything else. It's a quick and relatively easy form of magic to practice. Very useful in a fight or anytime you need some magic in a hurry. Maybe not as powerful in the long run as someone who also studies rituals, but there are always trade-offs."

Dr. James nodded with a smile. "Thank you for answering my question."

"Well, its only right that we know what each other can do if we're going to be traveling together." Dale said nonchalantly.

"What?" The doctor was taken completely off guard.

"Oh, don't pretend that the idea of traveling with a pretty girl like me doesn't appeal to you." Dale chided.

"Um, well…" Dr. James took a moment to carefully search for and select his words. "It's certainly not that I wouldn't welcome your company of course. But what even makes you think I'm traveling anywhere?"

"That's easy." Dale was enjoying herself as she teased her companion. "You've already mentioned that you're from New Crater City. You're not a native, you're just visiting. Maybe to hear Miss Tarn's lecture or perhaps just to get her autograph. Could be that you have a couple other lectures or other business here as well, but at the end of the day you're not staying. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if you were planning on leaving right after the signing. You're already dressed for travel. You're either going home or on your way to do some field research."

"Well, it's true." Dr. James was impressed by the young ladies powers of observation. "I'm here on leave and will be going home when I'm done here. Once I'm home again, I'm sure I'll be out on a new mission shortly."

"Isn't your hair kind of shaggy for a military officer?" Dale reached behind his neck to tug at a clump of hair that hung to his shoulders.

"Well," Dr. James leaned closer to whisper, "don't tell anyone but I'm part of the expeditionary division."

"You're a spy!" Dale whispered her exclamation with wide eyes.

"Don't be silly." Dr. James chided. "The enemy has spies. We have scouts."

"And who would the enemy be?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"That's what I'm supposed to find out." His eyes again scanned the crowd ahead of him. Erin Tarn was almost in sight.

Dale was incredulous at his response. "How can you possibly _not_ know who your enemies are?"

"Well, personally, I don't have any." Dr. James turned his attention back to the young lady. "As for New Crater City, they have kept to themselves for generations. They have only recently begun to open their gates to trade and visitors. They consider themselves to be a neutral free port for the moment but they need to assess their surroundings and decide what role they want to play in the future of North America. A number of the cities psychics have indicated that the next decade will be critical both for the city and for the continent at large. Thus it is imperative we have a thorough understanding of the situation… the big picture if you will."

The young mage listened to his words intently. "That actually makes a lot of sense to me. Although I'm a little surprised that you're being so forthright with me about all of this."

"Well," The doctor couldn't help but to smirk, "we should know about each other if we're going to be traveling together." He dropped the smirk. "In all seriousness though, I have been authorized to recruit a small band to assist me in my field research. Mostly for protection, you understand. The pay isn't great—only two-thousand credits a month plus some reasonable expenses. I've already recruited an engineer and a cyber-doc who where friends of mine back at school. They're waiting for me back at New Crater City. If you sign on with your mystical might, then I reckon I'd only need a couple of mercenary types for protection."

"Not a very large group." She commented as she considered his offer seriously.

"I don't want to attract too much attention." Dr. James shuffled forward a couple of steps as more room was made ahead of him in line.

"Sounds like fun times." Dale said cheerfully.

Before Dr. James could comment on the ease of her acceptance, a commotion started up at the front of the crowd.

A voice boomed over the commotion. "We're very sorry everyone, but Erin really must be going now. She has appointments to make before being off to Mexico to investigate the mysteries there. Don't worry, she'll continue to correspond to relate her adventures to you."

"What!?" Dale vented her outrage. "I wait all this time, talking to some dork," She paused for a moment to lower her voice and address Dr. James, "No offense." And then she continued to rant, "And I don't even get to see her!? That's soooo unfair!"

Dr. James was more amused than offended. Glancing around the crowd, he grabbed Dale's elbow and guided her through the throng. "We might yet catch a glimpse of her, my dear."

Soon the pair found themselves at the forefront of Erin Tarn and her entourage's exodus from the area. Leading the way was Sir Thorpe. Even though Dr. James and Dale had never even seen a picture of the man, both were able to easily identify him. The Native North American Cyber-Knight was no taller than Dr. James but much broader. The cyber-armor grafted to his skin helped identify him as one of the noble Cyber-Knight warriors. His mere presence was enough to force the crowd to part before him.

Behind him was Erin Tarn herself. She was an elderly woman, yet hardly frail. There was spring in her step and intelligence in her eyes. Most striking was her obvious compassion as she continually paused to greet an adoring public despite the urging of her protective friends and protectors. Her grandmotherly warmth was an aura that you didn't have to be a psychic to sense.

"Miss Tarn! ERIN! Here! Look HERE!" Despite her own capable lung capacity, Dale could hardly make herself heard by someone as close to her as Dr. James over the din.

Yet Dale's energy was hard to miss, even for someone as swamped as Erin. The matronly scholar paused in front of the pair. "Well, aren't you full of youthful exuberance, dear. You make me blush to think that a pretty young girl would be so determined to garner my humble attention."

Being noticed by the famous adventurer thrilled the young mage to the point that she nearly forgot she had a book to be signed. But not for long. She thrust her copy of Traversing Our Modern World at Erin. "Please ma'am, could you sign this for me?"

Erin chuckled good naturedly. "Of course dear, even if you've just made me feel about a decade older by calling me ma'am." She accepted the book and quickly signed it. "Does your friend here want something signed as well?"

"I sure do!" Dr. James produced his own copy of her book.

As she accepted the manuscript she paused when she got a good look at Dr. James' face. There was a brief moment when there seemed to be recognition in her eyes. Then she shook her head. "No, he was older than you are. And much, much more world weary. And that was so long ago…" Then something seemed to occur to her. "Tell me young man, Do you know if your father has ever been to Tolkeen?"

Baffled, Dr. James shook his head. "No… as far as I know I'm the first person in my family in generations to travel more than fifty miles from New Crater City."

"Ah." Erin seemed disappointed for a moment but quickly cheered again and signed his copy as well. "Well, if you ever do get a chance, you should visit Tolkeen. Truly a place of wonders, you know."

Giddy now as a school boy, Dr. James nodded. "I'll definitely make it a priority."

Then, as quickly as she appeared, Erin Tarn was whisked away.

It took several moments for Dr. James to come down from his high enough to realize that Dale was staring at him. "What?"

The mage gave him a sly look. "She sure seemed taken by you."

He shrugged, "it's my boyish charm, I'm sure."

"Sure, sure." Dale laughed as she took the doctors arm and started guiding him to a less busy part of the street. "So when do we leave?"

"It's pretty late now and I don't want to be caught out in the wilderness after dark." Dr. James tucked his signed book into an inside jacket pocket. "We'll leave at first light tomorrow morning."

"Okay then." Dale agreed. "I'll show you where I'm staying so you can pick me up in the morning. I trust you do have a ride?"

"Yeah. I have an old beater of a hover truck." Dr. James sighed thinking of it. The thing was older than he was and very temperamental. He spent more hours maintaining it then he did driving it. "I'll pick you up at 0530 hours."

"Damn Doc, a girl needs to get her beauty sleep." Dale griped at him. When he didn't say anything, she hit his arm. "You're supposed to say, you don't need any beauty sleep, Dale!"

"Sorry." Dr. James tried to fend off a second blow. "I didn't read the script all the way through."

"Amateur." Dale sighed. "I can't work under these conditions."

"You'll just have to manage." Dr. James deadpanned.

"Of course. I'm a professional after all." She poked a finger into his chest. "Pay attention. You just might learn something from watching me."

"Stranger things have happened." He conceded, feigning reluctance.

"We'll see." Dale stopped in front of small Inn. "This is me. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Dr. James nodded. "Bright and early." He watched her stride into her home for the evening and then turned and continued down the street.

After a couple of blocks another man fell into step beside Dr. James. He was a little shorter and a little leaner than the doctor but looking at him one got the impression he could handle himself in a fight, whether it was in a barroom or on a battlefield. His hair was neatly cropped and brown, as where his eyes. His clothing was expensive and stylish and his voice was refined. "I see you've recruited another for your party."

"I didn't know you were here today." Dr. James didn't look over at his new companion. He was already well known to him.

"I was hoping to get an autograph but couldn't get close enough." The man allowed himself a small smirk. "I noticed you managed."

Dr. James shrugged. "Dale had more to do with that than I did."

The man's smirk morphed into a frown. "It wasn't a chance meeting you know. I was watching carefully. When everyone else was vying to get closer to Miss Tarn, she was making her way to you. Deliberately."

Dr. James sighed heavily. "And here I was hoping she was attracted to my rugged good looks."

"You know better than that. I taught you myself." The man shook his head. "So why invite her along?"

"Because I don't know who she's working for," came Dr. James serious reply.

The other man nodded. "That's better. Still, this is a matter for concern. You shouldn't have been attracting any attention at all. At least not this soon in the game."

"She's a magic user. They have ways of knowing things." Dr. James produced a pair of cigars from his coat and offered one to his companion, who accepted. They paused in their advance to light the tobacco sticks. Dr. James blew out a thin cloud of grey smoke. "I don't trust her but I think I can use her."

"Good. Trust no one." The older man blew a ring and then pierced it with a lance of smoke.

"I don't. Not even you." Dr. James watched his contact from the corner of his eyes.

"Good." The man turned to leave as they came to where Dr. James was staying. "I'll be seeing you."

"When?" Dr. James wanted to know.

"When I need to." Without looking back, the man left as suddenly as he arrived.

Dr. Matthew James went inside and located his room. Once inside he locked his door and turned on the only light. Carefully he pulled out Traversing Our Modern World and examined the words Erin Tarn had personally written within above her signature.

"Remember always the past. Always have faith in the future."

He closed the book and knitted his brow, trying to understand the message.

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	2. A Gaggle of Geeks

Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

**A Gaggle of Geeks**

_Much of what I have to say on New Crater City is already well known to my colleagues and superiors. Yet I include mention of it in my travel journal for comparison purposes with regards to other communities in North America. _

_The cities founding was the result of an archaeological dig that occurred 99 years ago. What nation or city-state that may have originally sponsored this expedition for some reason was never recorded. What we do know is that it was headed by an accomplished engineer and scientist by the name of Robyn Synth. She was looking for technology and knowledge from the time before the great cataclysm. What led her to this site is as unknown as her benefactors; whatever it was paid off, and well. _

_Pictures, diagrams and descriptions from that time are available to anyone who wants to look them up in the city library. There were ruins of a pre-cataclysm city mostly overgrown with wilderness. A third of the old city was destroyed by whatever caused the crater. There are signs of post cataclysm construction in the crater by the survivors of the city. There are even signs identifying it as Crater City which is of course why we call now call it New Crater City—a city we have built from the ruins of the old. _

_The finds were mostly from old basements and other subterranean structures that have survived more or less intact. Vehicles and machinery were relatively common but among the biggest scores were the basements of a library, a hospital and a police station. By far the greatest find was an underground facility. Although 70 of the complex was destroyed, advanced cybernetic and bionic construction facilities remained salvageable. Records found in the facility showed that it was once a major center for research and development for a company called CyberTech Industries. _

_These finds brought engineers, scientists and doctors to study them. Along with these academics came mercenaries to protect them. A new fortified community sprang up within the walls of the crater while excavations continued. Families of those involved soon arrived followed closely by those wishing to offer goods and services to the fledgling community. _

_Our city was built on the principles of knowledge and defense. Education is provided to our citizens by the city and our citizens all do a stint in defence of the city. We are still a small city of sixty-thousand that barely fill a quarter the ten mile wide crater that surrounds us. Yet we are always expanding. _

_Our population is mostly human although humanoid D-Bee's who contribute to the common good are also welcome. Magic is regulated by law but is practiced by some of our citizens. The lack of local ley lines or nexus points means that this will never be a large percentage of our population. Psychics are embraced as important members of our community and its defense. _

_New Crater Cities level of technology is comparable to anything found in Upper Michigan, if a little less advanced. The exception is of course our cybernetic and bionic expertise which is at least as good as Northern Gun's if not superior. Electricity and indoor plumbing; luxuries in many places are common place for us as are paved roads. _

_Politically we have taken an isolationist stance. Although we've begun to open up more in recent years, we still prefer a policy of neutrality in our dealings with others. _

_Our cities founding mother, Robyn Synth was a young woman when this community started. Although rich and powerful after restarting CyberTech Industries, she does not involve herself with city politics or workings. She has in fact been in seclusion for decades and is only very rarely seen by a select few people. Her true age is unknown but it must be 130 or more. There is some concern that there does not seem to be an heir for the company she resurrected. Perhaps why many of our psychics predict that the next decade will be pivotal for our small city. _

_Will we continue to grow and prosper or shall we end up like so many others, dried up and busted before their time?_

_Only time will tell. _

_-Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Matthew James_

Dale sat crossed legged in her room. She had been meditating all night. It was a very necessary part of the mental discipline that allowed her to practice magic. She had been born and raised in an exclusive, secretive order of magic. She was the heiress to arcane secrets dating back generations. It was little surprise that she had turned out to be a mystical prodigy.

It was because of her advanced understanding of incantation magic that she was chosen for this very important mission. Oracles had identified Dr. James as being critical to the future of North America. How exactly was unclear but it was evident that the decisions he made in the next decade would have repercussions for everyone on the continent. Anything from a second cataclysm to a renaissance in human culture and development seemed possible. Dale's order hoped to influence those decisions and their outcomes to suit their agenda.

As for Dale herself, she was loyal to her order and believed in their goals. She also felt that she had a destiny to fulfill and this mission, while an honor and great responsibility in its own right, was also the means to fulfilling that destiny. That she found the subject of her mission and destiny to be personally attractive only helped to unify her purpose. Sure he was older than her, but he wasn't _that_ much older. But she had to remain focused. It would not do for her to give into attraction or to lose sight of her true reasons for being near him.

_"You've made contact. This is good."_

Without opening her eyes, Dale could see as well as sense the astral form that had arrived in her room. In addition to being a talented mage, she was gifted with psionic abilities. Some within her order believed that being psychic was actually part of her natural affinity for magic. They were most certainly part of her mother's legacy. Reaching out with her mind, she responded. _"That was the easy part."_

_"It is also good that you recognize that part. We have been given a glimpse of the future but the future is all possibility with no real substance. Now that you've become involved with Dr. James, your decisions will have heavy impact on creating substance out of possibility." _

Dale was not a fan of such cryptic talk. It promoted the idea that magic was more than it was. Many believed that magical powers were organic and in some ways alive. To these people, magic was a chaotic and unpredictable force. When they cast spells, they were imbued with a fraction of their own personality. Their magic was unpredictable because that is what the practitioner believed. To Dale, magic was a static energy force that always responded in the same way every time it was accessed. Like an equation, the result could always be predicted accurately if all the factors were known. Things only went wrong when unknown quantities were introduced.

Yet in this case, she had to concede that there were far too many variables when dealing with the future for even her to compute. The only variable she could control was her own decisions and actions. _"I will do what I can to ensure a positive outcome for us."_

_"We have every confidence in you." _The astral apparition was a woman. She was a colleague of Dale's mother when she was still alive.

_"I appreciate that. Still, I sense there is more you have to say." _Astral projection could be dangerous for even the most experienced traveler. It seemed unlikely that it would be used just to show a vote of confidence.

There was some hesitation from her astral visitor. _"Yes… the subject… is a complete unknown to us. His motivations are a mystery. Even knowledge on his home city is sadly lacking. The man and his environment are gray areas for us. It is hard for many of us to believe either could truly be of any consequence in the grand scheme of things. You've already met him. It was hoped that you might give us some indication of what makes the man special? What are his motivations and will he be a boon or bane to us?"_

_"It is early to be certain." _Dale considered. _"I have yet to see or sense any reason that the oracles would single this man out. He does not appear extraordinary in any way. I can only assume that it will therefore be extraordinary circumstance and not the man that will create the potentials foreseen by the oracles. As for his personal beliefs and views… it will take some time to assess those. My initial impression is that even if he can't be turned, he can at least be useful." _

Despite a complete lack or need of air, the astral woman sighed. _"This is good. We will continue to place our trust in you, Dale." _

Dale nodded her head in respect. _"I am honored by the trust you have all placed in me."_

The astral visitor smiled warmly. _"Your mother would be very proud of you, dear. We all are." _Then the woman faded away from Dale's perception.

The young mage opened her eyes, breaking her meditation. A glance at the clock told her that she still had time to shower, change and eat before the projected arrival of Dr. James. Heaving herself up off the floor, she went about her morning routines.

By the time she was done, the Doctor still hadn't arrived.

She began to pace. It really wasn't very gentlemanly to keep a lady waiting. While she might not qualify for such a title, there was no way for him to know that. Biting her lip, she began to wonder if she had given herself away somehow. Then it occurred to her that the world was a dangerous place and something had happened to him. From there it was a short jump to think that perhaps someone else had gotten to the doctor and her magic order had now lost their chance.

Deciding to go find him before it was too late, Dale gathered her things and opened the door.

"Good morning Dale." Dr. James was on the other side of the door, just raising his hand to knock. "Are you a precog or were you just watching for me thru the peep hole?"

Dale frowned up at him. "You're late. I was just about to leave without you."

Dr. James closed his eyes to better focus on the digital readout that was overlaid onto his vision. The small display showed him the time and date via a cybernetic implant on his visual nerve. His eyes snapped back open. "I'm only fifteen minutes late, Dale."

The young woman was not easily placated. "A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, _doctor_."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "It's sweet that you were worried. I assume you're ready to go?"

"Yeah, I just have to pay my tab." She groused as she pushed by the target of her frustration.

Dale paid for her lodgings and then followed Dr. James out to where his hover truck was parked. The truck was older than she was. It was probably old military surplus with a five person 'crew-cab' and a full sized cargo bed. The cargo bed was currently uncovered but had the superstructure for a tarpaulin cover stowed. What gave it away as military surplus was the olive drab color scheme and the roof hatch with weapon mounting rail towards the rear of the crew cab. There were currently no weapons mounted on the vehicle. She stopped short when she saw it, giving her companion a disbelieving stare.

Dr. James paused after unlocking the driver's door. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm looking for the implants." Dale started walking to the passenger side of the truck. "Because you're crazy."

"If you're referring to mind over matter implants, you needn't bother. I don't have them." He opened the door and flipped a switch, unlocking Dale's door as well. "And in any case, the so-called crazy implants aren't always visible."

"You're not helping your case, doc." Dale commented as she slid into her side of the trucks cab.

"That's what you get for accepting rides from strangers." Dr. James joked as he punched in the ignition sequence. The electric power supply provided juice to fans that in turn lifted the vehicle with a sudden lurch. He manipulated the 'steering wheel' that was more like an airplane control and established control over the hover jets.

"You really intend to go to New Crater City in this thing? You'll be lucky to make the Lazlo city limits." Dale tossed her duffel bag and backpack into the back bench seat and then made a point of buckling her safety harness.

Once they were on their way, even Dale had to admit to herself that the old hover truck performed decently.

By the time the dual were departing Lazlo, the morning sun had established its dominance in the sky. They had to pause outside the city limits so that Dr. James could retrieve his armor and weapons from the storage bunker run by the city militia. He immediately strapped his Bushman armor on—the helmet he left off. The armor was a commonly manufactured composite plate that was rugged and durable without compromising mobility unduly. His ion pistol went into a holster on his thigh while 9mm pistol loaded with silver ammunition was placed into a belt holster.

The roads in Lazlo and immediately outside were paved and well maintained. For about fifty miles outside the cities limits, small rural communities dependent on Lazlo used gravel roads that were still fairly well maintained.

Only two roads in this area were still paved; one leading to the Relic, a city built on the ruins of Hamilton city. The other was the road that led to New Crater city. The highway leading to Relic was paved the whole way and maintained by joint agreement of both cities.

The one leading to New Crater City was only paved out for about fifty miles from Lazlo. After that it was a wide stretch of dirt road that was only maintained by frequent traffic between the two cities. With increased trade between the two city states, negotiations had begun to pave the road the entire way.

Part of the negotiations would include the issue of road security. Supernatural menaces would occasionally wander into the area, causing problems for those on the road. Increasing traffic had attracted bandits to the road as well.

Traveling by daylight helped reduce the risk as many supernatural predators hunted only at night. The much increased volume of traffic during the day also meant a slightly higher chance of someone stopping to aid those in trouble.

Still, speed was the first line of defence when traveling in the wilderness. Dr. James knew his truck could make the trip in an hour and a half without overly taxing his engines or draining his batteries. The truck could go faster, but he didn't trust it for more than short bursts of speed. A newer vehicle of the same class could probably make the trip in half the time. Speed limits were not a concern in the spaces between civilization.

When the truck began to sputter and lose altitude suddenly, Dr. James was forced to stop the vehicle. Letting out a worried sigh, he put his helmet on before going outside to look under the hood.

Nervous now, Dale likewise exited the vehicle. She gathered eldritch energy about herself and prepared an incantation. With just one more word, she would be immediately sheathed in an invisible magical armor. She didn't want to waste her mystic reserves if she didn't have to, however.

"Dammit." Dr. James muttered thru his face mask as he examined the power plant. As something of a 'backyard mechanic', he could see the problem easily. A module had been added to the odometer sensor and routed thru the power distribution system. When the truck had traveled seventy-five miles, power cut off. He could remove the added components but knew he wouldn't have time to do so. "Ambush!" He shouted as he pulled his ion blaster.

Right on cue, three bandits burst from the wilderness on either side of the dirt road for a total of six highwaymen. Half of them had patchwork and salvaged armor on. All of them had a weapon of some sort, either a laser of Wilks manufacture or something produced by Northern Gun. Their gear was cheap and in bad repair which told Dr. James that these guys were small timers.

The group leader had the best armor and a pulse laser rifle. He stepped forward and addressed Dr. James. "Give us your stuff and we won't harm you or your friend. Fight, and I can't promise I can control what the boys do." He leered at Dale with menace.

"Just a second." Dr. James protested. "You've already gotten into my truck once. Why not just steal it then?"

"That's easy. We were all still in the city limits, weren't we? Couldn't get the real prizes until you stopped off at the bunker." The leader raised his pulse rifle. "Enough jawing. Drop your weapons!"

Dale had whispered the command word for her protection spell as soon as Dr. James had yelled out his warning. When his stalling seemed to be at an end, she cast her next incantation. Suddenly she seemed to split into two people. And then each of the two images also split into two people. "Come and get it, punks!"

"Shit! A magic user! Get her boys!" In the minds of the bandits, Dale had just gone from potential victim and diversion to dangerous opponent and unknown quantity. They rapidly opened fire on her and her illusionary images. Not being well trained, most of their shots missed altogether while the remainder only served to dispel a couple of the false Dales.

No longer the center of attention, Dr. James dropped to the prone position on the ground and then opened fire on the bandits, taking out two with no armor in quick order. Then he rolled over to the hover truck to grab some cover.

The bandits were right to focus on Dale as she waved her arms in arcane patterns and continued to chant. Flinging out her palm at a pair of her foes, they were caught up in an enchanted web. Unfortunately she ran out of doubles and a couple of energy blasts had to be absorbed by her magical protection. As it collapsed around her she began to recast the protective barrier.

Seeing that Dale might soon be in trouble, Dr. James charged the distracted bandit leader and tackled him. Surprise and inertia carried both to the ground with Dr. James landing on top. Holding his blaster to the bandits face, "Surrender!" he ordered.

Realizing he was alone and facing off against a magic user, the last bandit dropped his laser pistol.

At blaster point, the four remaining bandits were disarmed and stripped of any armor they were wearing. Then Dale searched them for valuables while Dr. James covered her. A short search of the nearby wilderness revealed half a dozen motorbikes that were soon crammed into the back of the hover truck. Just as they were finishing collecting the highway robbers goods, a new arrival could be seen approaching.

Astride a large and powerful robotic horse was a heavily armored warrior. The armor was styled to look like a modern version of a medieval knight's full plate armor from the past. This suggested that he was either one of the legendary cyber-knights wandering the land looking for wrongs to right or else a pretender. Either could be potentially dangerous.

He paused in his trek to regard the scene carefully. He nodded to Dr. James when approached. "Good morning. Having a spot of trouble are we?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle." Dr. James removed his helmet to smile at the knight. "And good morning to you, as well."

"Help us! We're being robbed!" The quick thinking bandit leader cried out.

Dale kicked him, knocking him over. "I knew we should have just shot you."

"They aren't worth the recharge cost." Dr. James shot over his shoulder. Then he turned his attention back to the warrior in front of him. "I suppose they expect you to believe that the two of us ambushed the six of them."

From behind his facemask, the knight's eyes drifted over to Dale. "Power isn't in numbers alone."

"And the two dead guys were with them!" The bandit leader shouted out, earning another kick from Dale.

"That's right." Dr. James said with no small amount of sarcasm. "We attacked a group the same size as us and pushed onto victory despite losing half our number and inflicting no casualties to the other side."

The cyber-knight laughed. "Anything is possible but I suspect the villains here have already been dealt with. I am Sir Orson, by the way." He leaned down in his saddle. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you planning to do with your prisoners?"

"That is a conundrum. We could take them to the authorities at New Crater City but then we'll get tied up in the trial and legal process there. Lazlo is even less appealing because it's back the way we came. Dale is all for killing them but that doesn't quite sit right with me. I was just about to release them with the clothes on their backs and nothing more." The young man offered his hand. "Dr. James, by the way."

Dismounting, the cyber-knight took his hand. "Well met." He strode over to the captives and looked them over. Dale booted the leader once more before getting out of the way. They all seemed to be in decent enough shape except for a few new bruises on the leader. "With no armor, weapons or transportation in the wilderness, it's as good as a death sentence."

Dr. James shrugged. "That was the best we could have hoped for." He glanced over at Dale. "But I'm sure worse was planned."

Sir Orson nodded knowingly. "I'm on my way to Lazlo. I could escort these gentlemen there where I'll ensure they turn themselves in."

"That would be great." Dr. James agreed. While it may have sounded like a suggestion or offer, he recognized that the cyber-knight was making a statement of forgone fact. It was remotely possible that Dale's magic might be enough to overpower the wandering champion; Dr. James wasn't willing to put it to the test over a trivial matter.

Dale and Sir Orson kept watch while Dr. James affected repairs on his hover truck. Once it was running as well as it ever did, Sir Orson gathered up his charges and started off towards Lazlo.

As soon as they were on their way again, Dale addressed her companion. "You think that was just some random attack or something more deliberate?"

Dr. James had been thinking along those same lines. "It was premeditated. They've been watching me at least since Lazlo. I don't think they were ready for you though. They weren't well trained at all, but they've probably been robbing people for a little while at least. But I don't think it was anymore sinister than a relatively well planned highway robbery."

Dale thought about it and decided he was right. That caused her to relax somewhat but she watched the terrain fly by with suspicion.

Soon enough the truck was approaching the limits of New Crater City. The first hint of impending civilization was paved road. After about ten miles, the city limits could be seen. The outskirts of town were surrounded by a ten foot wall. The road in was flanked by a pair of manned watch towers but the troops within didn't molest the pair despite the fact that Dr. James was in full battle armor.

The outskirts of the city was made up mostly of traveling merchants and transients. The area was patrolled by the city militia and law was enforced but people were allowed to carry protection. Only armored military vehicles had to be left outside the first wall. The entire area made up a relatively small 'bubble' around the main entrance to the city.

It was here that they stopped to sell the goods lifted off the bandits. Aside from a L-20 pulse rifle for Dr. James and a Wilks laser pistol for Dale, everything was sold. They only got a fraction of the goods value due to the poor maintenance and no questions asked, all sales final nature of the transactions. After recharging their own weapons e-clips and the hover trucks batteries along with repairs to the trucks armor from a couple of stray shots, the two of them had about twenty thousand local credits which they split between them.

The cities main gate was an armored bunker built into the hundred-foot high crater wall. Part of the bunker included an area to park military vehicles and to check weapons and armor. City militia and cyborgs ensured compliance with the cities regulations while psychics screened suspicious entrants.

As both a mage and psychic, Dale had to be assigned a scanable card that she had to carry with her at all times while inside the city proper. She also had to swear not to use her powers in the commission of any crimes while visiting the city and was presented with a vid briefly detailing New Crater Cities laws regarding the use of psionics and magic.

As a member of the city militia, Dr. James was permitted to carry his arms and armor inside the city limits. He was also able to expedite Dale's entrance.

Inside the craters wall, the city was as modern as any found in Upper Michigan. Streets were paved and buildings were of sturdy construction. Electricity and plumbing were all provided by the city. Other infrastructure included a modern hospital with cybernetic capability, a police station, militia base, a university, a radio and television station, Volunteer fire department as well as local internet and telephone service. CyberTech Industries led the cities industry, producing bionics and cybernetics but there was also a recently opened hovercraft manufacturer. The city was beginning to boom and new residential areas were constantly under construction.

The people inside the city were literate and educated—many in professional trades. They were also law abiding and enjoyed their orderly lives. Employment was high and crime was low. Mostly a human demographic, non-humans were welcomed with little suspicion so long as they contributed to the greater good of the city. Deadbeats of any race usually found themselves cast out into the wilderness.

To Dr. James, it was home.

As a member of the militia, Dr. James had the option of living on base in a dormitory style barracks. As an officer, he would be ensured his own private room. He opted instead to rent an apartment in the city at his own expense. It had a secure underground parking garage and controlled building access so he felt safe enough when home. His apartment was a small affair with a bedroom, bathroom, dining room/living room/study along with an attached kitchenette. The final addition was a tiny balcony just large enough for two people and a BBQ.

Dale glanced around as he led her inside his abode. "Cozy." She commented without sarcasm. "But I half expected it to be crowded with books."

Dr. James dropped off his duffel bag and back pack inside his bedroom before unlatching his helmet and taking it off. "I've got a couple bookshelves full but mostly I collect electronic copies. They take up less space that way." He gestured to the couch. "You're welcome to stay while we're here. Not much space but cheaper than a hotel."

She dropped her own luggage by the couch. "Thanks. I appreciate it. Not to sound pushy, but I don't suppose you have anything for lunch?"

Pulling open the mini-fridge, he examined the contents. "I've got some boilable meals or some nuke-able meals. There's some left-over take-out of dubious quality as well. Nothing that really qualifies as real food."

"I'm good for whatever. I'm not fussy." Dale sat down on the couch. "Just so long as I don't have to cook it."

"Okay." Dr. James agreed, "But you're doing the dishes."

"Suites." Agreed Dale.

Five minutes later they were both sitting on the couch with a pair of steaming plates. Dr. James flipped on the monitor and activated the television function. A movie produced in Perez was playing.

"I'll give my two buddies a call after lunch so you can meet them. Tomorrow I'll report to HQ and we'll arrange for you to join the mission." Dr. James blew on his boiled lasagna before gulping down a couple of bites.

Around a mouthful of food, Dale replied. "Looking forward to it, Doc." Her eyes followed the action on screen for a few moments. "So what is it we're watching, Doc?"

Dr. James observed the film for a few more moments. "This is a remake of a pre-cataclysm movie I believe. The caped individual with a mask is a member of society's elite during the day but becomes a vigilante to fight crime and corruption by night. He maintains a secret lair in a cave and is supported by his loyal sidekick. Despite the proliferation of firearms at the time, he disdained their use."

"I like him already." Dale said as she continued to watch. "A bit of an anarchist, working outside of the law for the good of all. Kind of romantic, don't you think?"

"Peace, law and good government sound better to me." Dr. James replied. Then he shrugged. "But I don't think you can find all three of those things in one place anymore."

"Then maybe it's time for more masked heroes." Dale said with some seriousness.

"I suppose that is what has given rise to cyber-knights like Sir Orson." Dr. James took another bite of his food and chewed thoughtfully. "I don't think relying on individual heroes is the way to go. If we hadn't managed to handle the situation ourselves this morning, Sir Orson would have been far too late to save us. Avenge us maybe, but not save us. Now a group of people working together could make far more difference. If Lazlo and New Crater City come to an agreement about patrolling that stretch of road, you'll find the bandits diminish and maybe even disappear. Same goes for monsters from the wilds. Far more can be accomplished by society working toward a common good than individuals working outside society."

His response roused nothing but silence from Dale so both continued to watch the movie quietly. Predictably, the villain captured the sidekick only to have the hero save him in the nick of time. The villain was defeated and the hero returned to his mansion while the locals praised the efforts of their unknown benefactor.

When his meal was done, Dr. James got up and grabbed the phone hanging on wall in the kitchenette. "Hello, Donald? It's Matthew. I'm back from Lazlo. Yes I did, as a matter of a fact. No, she's a lot older than we imagined, I guess Reese wins the bet. I suppose I could lie, but you'll have to cut me in for half. Forget it then. Anyway, I found someone to join the expedition. A magic user of course. I was in Lazlo after all. You'll like her."

Dr. James wandered back into the room as the movie credits began to roll and smirked. "Is she cute? Compared to your pet hound, I suppose so."

Dr. James dodged a kick originating from the couch. "Of course she'll be useful. Look, women really can be more than a pretty face, and it's a good thing too."

Demonstrating surprisingly good reflexes, Dr. James managed to dodge a second kick. "Look, if she hadn't been with me today, I'd still be walking from Lazlo."

Dale smiled at the praise and then took advantage of Dr. James' lowered defenses to finally land a kick. "Ow! No look, it wasn't more than we could handle. Actually we made off with some swag that we sold outside the crater. Yeah. I'll be bringing her by shortly. Is Reese there? No, you can tell him. Ciao."

Dr. James hit the end button and turned to face Dale. "Well, we should get going."

Standing up and hitting him with a pillow in one fluid motion, Dale answered. "Anytime you're ready, Doc. But aren't you a little over dressed for visiting friends?"

Realizing that he still had his armor on, Dr. James retreated to his bedroom to change. Coming out in fresh clothes, he found that Dale was in the bathroom. After only a couple of minutes she came out changed into a pair of black slacks and a white sleeveless button up blouse that left her mid-riff exposed. A matching black vest completed the ensemble. No one could now tell by looking at the girl that she was anything but an ordinary civilian. "You clean up nicely." Dr. James commented.

"One of us has to." She replied with a smirk. "I suppose we have to use that beast of a truck you own."

"Beggars can't be choosers." He opened the door for his guest and the two returned to the garage to pile into the beast in question. After the initial lurch, they were soon zooming along across town.

Donald and Reese were both in the city militia and unlike Dr. James had chosen to live in the barracks. They had their rooms in a four person dorm that wasn't unlike Dr. James' own apartment. The other two rooms were currently vacant and the two friends were contriving to keep it that way as long as possible so they could enjoy the extra space. One of the spare rooms was being used for storage while the other had been converted into a gaming room known around base for its poker nights.

The pair were both trying to save as much money as possible. Dr. Donald Corwin wanted to open his own cybernetic clinic when his term of service with the militia was up. Reese Hazard had dreams of opening his own robotics shop. Both figured they could work for CyberTech Industries if their ambitions didn't pan out immediately. If not, well there was always the militia.

All of this Dr. James explained to Dale as they drove thru the city. They were stopped at the gates of the base and he had to use his status as an officer to vouch for Dale as her card set off the gates scanners. Then he escorted her up into the barracks complex until he found his friends suite.

Not bothering to knock, he just walked in. "Hope you gentleman are dressed. There's a lady present."

"You may be girly, but you're no lady." Reese chided his friend before his eyes drifted over to Dale. "Wow. The way Donald was talking, I thought you'd be a real…"

Reese never got to finish his sentence as Donald walked up beside his colleague and smoothly jammed an elbow into his ribs. "My lady, welcome to our humble abode." He gracefully took her hand into his and kissed it.

Dale smiled at the small act of chivalry as she took in the visage of Dr. James' two friends. Donald, not surprisingly, had surgeons hands. He was a slim and tall man. His black hair was slicked back and he sported a thin mustache on his lip. His eyes appeared as honest brown orbs. His clothes were fashionable and his voice was cultured. He was probably the oldest of the bunch, but not by more than a couple of years. Dale didn't doubt that Donald got more than his fair share of attention from the ladies.

Reese in contrast, was much more rough around the edges. He was currently sporting cargo pants and a sleeveless white shirt. His hands were calloused from work and his sandy blonde hair was tussled and unkempt. There was a day's growth on his face and bags under his clear blue eyes. She judged that he had most likely spent the night previous drinking and had only woken up recently.

She decided that she rather liked both of them. And by the way they were looking her over and falling over themselves to make her feel comfortable it was obvious that they weren't exactly taken aback by her.

"I shall look forward to introducing you to my superiors tomorrow." Donald told Dale with a smile.

Dr. James cleared his throat. "If you'll recall, Dr. Corwin, this expedition is mandated by my department. I've been placed in command."

"Yes of course." Donald agreed readily enough. "But in this matter I think I should pull rank, _Lieutenant_."

"You can pull rank all you want in the privacy of your own room, _captain_." Dr. James replied with a friendly smile. "But I have command here and will be introducing all potential agents to HQ."

"As you wish, my power hungry commander." Donald replied, literally bowing out.

"If you're both done pissing against the wind. Perhaps we should see to this young woman's accommodation?" Reese shot Dale a winning smile.

"I'm ahead of you on that as well." Dr. James countered. "She'll be staying on my couch."

"You're not even offering up your bed to this lady?" Donald protested. "I object. She shall stay here in one of the spare rooms. I insist!" It was hard to tell if he was seriously incensed or else trying a ploy.

"As kind as that offer is," Dale interjected before the boys started posturing again, "all my stuff is at the Doc's place anyway."

"You know, he's not a _real_ doctor, right dear?" Donald asked.

"Oh, I know." Dale smiled warmly up at Dr. James. "That's why I call him doc. To rub it in." She sighed and pouted. "But he's been too dense to get it."

Reese roared with laughter. "That's our Mattie alright! Or I guess I should say, Doc!"

'Mattie' blushed in embarrassment, both at Reese bringing up a childhood nickname and Dales explanation of her own nickname for him. "Well, in any case, if you guys want to get anything for the trip, you have this afternoon and this evening to do it. Tomorrow morning I'll be clearing Dale in with the Expeditionary command and then we'll all have a briefing in the afternoon. I expect we'll have to set out the morning after and I expect you all to be well rested for the journey."

"Where will we be going first?" Reese inquired.

"We're still a little short handed." Dr. James observed. "I was hoping to be granted enough budget to hire two or more mercenaries for our protection."

"Sounds good to me." Donald observed. "Going to hire someone from outside the crater?"

"Naw." Dr. James shook his head. "I think the best mercenaries can be found in Ishpeming. Either that, or the Manistique Imperium. They're both high tech enclaves made up of mostly humans. Plus they're only a couple days away assuming we don't run into trouble in the wilderness."

"I still think we should just get some grunts to join us. Maybe a couple of 'borgs as well." Reese went into the kitchenette and pulled a beer out of the fridge. "We're paying them anyway, might as well use them."

"The problem with soldiers is that they act like soldiers." Donald observed. "Mercenaries on the other hand are still professional and capable warriors without giving away a military agenda. Remember that we're a supposed to be surveying for pre-cataclysm ruins."

"When in fact we're scouting other communities in North America." Dr. James finished. "Besides, the city isn't that far from the Windsor and Detroit ruins. We need every defender we can lay our hands on. It was hard enough to convince HQ to release just us three for this mission."

Reese settled into the couch with a heavy thud. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I've already got everything I need and I'll have it loaded into my truck tomorrow."

Donald sat down at the table that was beside the kitchenette. "My gear and supplies are already stowed aboard my truck. I don't like spreading us over three vehicles but there simply isn't enough room for any of us to double up our gear."

"This is true. Dale will be riding with me since I have the most room in my truck between the three of us. But when we recruit more mercenaries, they'll likely be riding shotgun with the two of you."

Both men made faces at the idea but knew it was for the best.

"Well, I still have some stuff to get and I'm sure Dale does as well. So we'll be off. We'll pick you two up in the morning."

Shortly, Dr. James and Dale were again on the road, this time headed outside the city proper to the traveling merchants found in the perimeter area. The two of them were out until sundown haggling over supplies for an extended journey. They had to get back into the city then, before the main gates closed for the night.

Back at the apartment, Dr. James let Dale shower first before taking one himself. Coming out and going to his bedroom, he found Dale already snoring softly in his bed. Since she had taken time to place a pillow and blanket on the couch, he assumed he wasn't invited to join her. Sighing, he settled into the couch for the night.

The next morning was a blur as two people who weren't happy about being up and about at an early hour were forced to share a bathroom and have breakfast before getting into a hovercraft that could be described as temperamental. Then they were off to the base to pick up Donald and Reese before dropping them off. From there Dr. James took Dale to be processed. He stayed with her to make sure everything went smoothly.

The four met again for lunch at the cafeteria style officer's mess. Then they went to a Spartan conference room to meet the officer in charge of their mission. They were answering to the head of the expeditionary command, Colonel Anderson. A civilian representative from the government was also present. Colonel Anderson introduced him as Mr. Blackburn.

"As you all know, New Crater City has recently opened its gates to the outside world. We have some information about the rest of North America but much of it is dated and there are gaping holes in it. The ever changing and chaotic landscape doesn't help any either. That is why the expeditionary command was created in the first place. This mission will be something of a pilot, paving the way for many more like it."

He nodded to Donald. "Captain Corwin and Lieutenants James and Hazard are the core of this particular mission. Between the three of you, there is enough expertise to gather a great deal of information about the other communities of North America. As Lieutenant James is the cultural expert, he has been given command authority despite Captain Corwin's superior rank."

The colonel gestured to Dale. "You've come aboard as the first of hopefully several specialists to assist with this endeavor. We can't wait any longer to begin this mission so Lieutenant James has been authorized to recruit additional specialists while the mission is in progress. He has been provided with a limited budget for that as well as additional supplies while you're in the field."

"Your first destination will be upper Michigan and the technological enclaves found there. That's also where we expect you to do any additional recruiting before moving on." The colonel pulled down a wall map. "Your route will take you north into the Coalition territory of Iron Heart. That is because there is a ferry service available here that crosses Lake Huron and lands in Upper Michigan."

"When you're done in Upper Michigan, we want you to investigate a number of communities. They include New Lazlo and then the Kingdom of Montreal. From there we'd like you to look into the community known as 'Old Bones'. When you're done at Old Bones, you'll carry on to the eastern coast of North America. This will be your true objective as it is the least known to us at this time. We don't expect you to go any farther north than the St. Lawrence on this excursion, or any further south than the ruins of Washington D.C. Further limits may be imposed by the mission commander dependent on resources and time already spent in the field. It'll be his discretion when to bring the team back, but we don't expect you to be gone more than six months this time out."

The Colonel let the map roll back up. "We've installed a long range, laser boosted radio in Lieutenant James' truck so you'll be able to communicate with us for most of your voyage. We'd prefer that you practice restraint however; as it will give away your location to anyone who might be listening and any message must be assumed to be intercepted by interested parties. There are those who might misconstrue this scouting operation as spying. We'd just as soon prefer not to put you into that kind of danger or attract that kind of attention to ourselves. Unless you come across anything of immediate urgency, everything can wait until you make your report here in person."

At the end of his spiel, the colonel sighed. "Are there any questions?"

There were none. "Very well. You'll be departing at sunrise tomorrow. Get a good night sleep people. You have a long six months ahead of you."


	3. Into the Wild

**Chapter Three:**

**Into the Wild**

_The Coalition State of Iron Heart is the third largest of the Coalition states. Overall, the state has a population of over two and a half million people. The capital of the state rests on the pre-cataclysm city of Sudbury and is now called the City of Iron. Easily half a million people live in this dirty, industrial city. There are a number of other, smaller cities. The urban population is occupied with mining and manufacturing. _

_The rural population is also sizable and spread out in small communities in what used to be northern Ontario. They make their living off the land as hunters, fisherman, farmers and loggers. It is this large number of woodsman that gives the state its huge body of knowledge regarding the northern wilderness and the Xiticix hive-lands. _

_Both rural and urban populations are mostly illiterate workers with little education. They are loyal members of the Coalition, accepting all the official lines coming from the Chi-Town department of propaganda. They have embraced CS technology and the genetically engineered 'Dog Boys' from Lone Star. Psychic humans are actually better off since Iron Heart joined the CS states. Even as second class citizens, they have some rights and protection under the law which is more than they had prior to Coalition membership. _

_While ideal citizens of the Coalition States in every respect, the residents of Iron Heart do have one peculiarity. Even as proud members of the Coalition states, they maintain that they are still Canadian. It is an odd holdover from pre-cataclysm times. They have gone so far as to add red maple leafs as a backdrop to their CS emblems. _

_Of course many who live within the former borders of the pre-cataclysm nation of Canada also consider themselves Canadian. This goes for New Crater City, Lazlo, Relic and many other independent communities from the Atlantic to the Pacific. None of them have anything in common with each other and many are often on opposite sides of a conflict. Yet even citizens of Free Quebec will refer to themselves as 'French-Canadian' (although Quebec-quois is far more common). _

_This is not as much an anomaly as it appears on the surface. Many in Chi-Town believe they are carrying on the 'American' way of life. Similar attitudes can be found in Michigan, Missouri, Lone Star, El Dorado and many communities out west. I believe that this is merely an attempt to hold onto the past, to connect to the golden age of man when things were better. But what once was, can never be again. _

_-Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Matthew James_

Three hover trucks tore out of the outer gates of New Crater City as the sun was just peaking up over the horizon. Before the cataclysm, the fastest route would have been to head east and south thru Windsor and then Detroit. That route was suicidal now. The two cities were ruins devoid of human life. Bandits wouldn't be any trouble at all. Supernatural monsters, creatures of magic and even demons and devils were all another matter. All manner of nightmare now stalked the streets of these destroyed metropolises at all times of day and night.

So Dr. James and his small crew were headed north and then west before catching a ferry to Upper Michigan. The route was mostly wilderness and therefore inherently dangerous but it was still the safest option outside of flight or magical transit.

Matthew's venerable truck took the lead in the micro-convoy with Dale riding shotgun. While she had his L-20 pulse rifle at her disposal, magic would naturally be her first recourse in a crisis situation. The superstructure and canvas were set up over the rear cargo bed that now held most of the group's supplies.

Donald's own hover vehicle was second in line. It was only a couple of years old. The cab was built for three people. The middle passenger could pop up thru a roof hatch to use a mounted weapon or personal firearm. Such would have to wait until the Cyber-Doc had a heavy weapon to mount—or a passenger to use it. There was an access hatch to the rear cargo compartment. The cargo compartment was enclosed with a hard top that protected the doctor's medical equipment. Two stretchers were stowed back here so that the truck could function as an ambulance. Donald used one of the stretchers to sleep in on extended trips. Dale had an open offer to use the other.

Reese's truck was of the same make and year as Donald's. The difference between the two was that his was set up to store his tools and spare parts. He was set up to work on anything from chainsaws and generators to hover vehicles and robots.

Old road ways that once bound the land were now broken shackles. With few communities in the region they had to travel through, established routes were far between one another. A trip that at one time could have been driven in a day would now take two or three assuming there were no mishaps.

Traveling in a large group such as a merchant caravan was the safest way to move about. In the case of a merchant caravan, it was also one of the most expensive as the mercenary protection these caravans used wasn't offered to others for free. Small groups had some advantages as well. They attracted less attention when moving thru the wilderness and were generally quicker. In the absence of firepower, speed was the traveler's greatest ally. So was luck.

As it happened, luck was with the small group for the first day of travel. By noon the foursome had yet to see anything more threatening than a small herd of deer. Buoyed by their good fortune they chose a site to pull over for a quick rest and some lunch. All three men had armor on and only took off their helmets to eat. There was always at least one of them on guard with helmet on while the others ate. Such precautions were routine for anyone traveling in the North American wilderness in post-cataclysm times.

The lunch consisted of boil-foil military rations that were nutritious and edible if not tasty. The addition of various condiments usually corrected any flavor issues diners might have. Open fire or even a camp stove would have taken too much time to get going and also ran the risk of attracting unwanted attention thru smoke and heat. So instead, disposable chemical heating bags were used. One simply put the meal in the bag, added some water and a couple of minutes later a fully cooked meal was ready to consume.

All told, the stop took less than thirty minutes including calls of nature for all four. While all three men turned away when Dale had her turn, modesty had to otherwise be sacrificed for safety.

When it was time to start moving again, Dr. James addressed Dale. "Would you like a turn behind the wheel?"

"Hey! No fair!" Reese objected. "Don and I don't get driving breaks."

"It's a mute point, Rees." Dale interjected before another row over her began. "I don't know how to drive."

"Really?" Dr. James asked. "I could teach you."

"I suppose I should learn sometime." Dale agreed. "There's no time like the present."

The afternoon was spent with Dr. James explaining the controls and their functions to Dale as they drove. They both agreed that she could wait to get behind the wheel until they were someplace safer.

Only a couple hours later they spotted a roadblock up ahead on the trail they were using. There were a dozen men in the commonly available Urban Warrior armor and all were well armed. The trail was blocked by a pair of large three wheeled trucks with rail guns mounted on the roofs. Half a dozen Northern Gun produced hover cycles were also visible.

As the convoy approached, one of the men strode leisurely in front of the blockade with his weapon slung. Others held their rifles but didn't raise them or make other threatening moves.

"Trouble?" Asked Dale as Matthew slowed their ride.

"Maybe. Follow my lead and be prepared. Unless I miss my guess, we should be alright." He glanced at the helmet that he had placed between them but decided not to put it on. He brought the truck down a few feet in front of the man who was halting them. As soon as it landed, Dale popped the hood latch and went up.

Behind them, the other two hover trucks stopped a vehicle length back and to either side of the lead vehicle forming a triangle. Both Don and Reese popped their upper bodies out of their roof hatches. None of them turned off their engines.

The man walked slowly over to Dr. James's window, unlatching and removing his helmet as he went. He produced a cigarette from one of the utility pouches on his belt and he smiled when he got to the rolled down window of the hover truck. "Good day folks. I don't suppose you have a light?"

"Sure thing." Dr. James fumbled around his safety harness to find a lighter in one of his own belt pouches. "Here it is. So what's up?"

The man accepted the lighter and lit up his smoke. He took a couple of deep drags before returning the ignition source. "Ah, that's the stuff." He exhaled. Then he smiled at Dr. James. "Sorry folks. We represent the local community that manages this stretch of trail. This is a road toll station."

"Ah." Dr. James nodded. "So what's the damage?"

Gesturing to the dirt path, the man explained, "As you can see, there's still a lot of work to be done so the toll is fairly steep. One thousand credits per vehicle, I'm afraid." He managed to look apologetic for asking so much.

Dr. James sucked air in through clenched teeth. "That's pretty steep. Have you seen this truck? Do you think maybe you could let us all slip through for just a cool grand?"

"Yeah, I can see you're not made of money." The man nodded sympathetically. Then he looked at the vehicles flanking the front one. "But maybe your fellow travelers could help you cover the cost?" He leaned an arm casually against the trucks door. "I'm reasonable, if you got something for trade; that would be acceptable too."

"Hmmm." Dr. James looked thoughtful. "Well, I suppose we could spare a bit more. Say two thousand creds to cover the good vehicles and we let this clunker slide for free?"

"Well heck, you did give me a light so I guess I owe you one." The man laughed with a wide grin and everyone on both sides took it as a sign to relax. He produced a portable credit reader and handed it over to Dr. James.

Taking the small card reader, Dr. James inserted his card through the slot on the top of the device so it could read the data on the card. Then he punched in his pin number, unlocking the electronic 'vault' on the card. A few key strokes later and two thousand electronic universal credits were transferred from a data storage chip on the card to the digital vault in the card reader. Taking his card back, he returned the reader to the toll-man.

The toll-man nodded and the two heavy ATV's began to roll aside, opening up the way ahead. "You folks have a good day."

"Will do." Dr. James agreed with a smile and then he revved his engine. Once everyone else was back down their respective hatches and ready to go, he started forward again, waving amiably to the other toll guards.

"Good thing they weren't robbers." Dale commented once they were well on their way.

"Hmmm? Oh, they were." Dr. James corrected her. "There are no local communities around here, maintaining the road or otherwise." He shook his head. "Who would say that, anyway? We're from the local community? Sloppy… no lazy, they can't be bothered to think up a fake name."

Dale's eyes went wide. "You mean that was extortion? And you went along with it?"

"Of course I did, Dale." Came the quick retort. "They outnumbered us three to one—and those are just the ones we saw. They were well armed and prepared. I'll bet they've been running this scam for quite awhile. And will for sometime because they're smart, not greedy. They don't blindly attack people, nor do they ask for more than is reasonable. If combat had broken out, that two thousand credits wouldn't have covered E-clip recharges or armor patches. They let us leave with our gear and our dignity and they get to be a little richer. Sooner or later they'll run into a group that's more powerful than they look and maybe then they'll regret their life of crime but until then they'll continue to prey on people like us."

"That sucks." Dale declared before sinking back into her seat.

"It does." Agreed Dr. James. "But it could have been worse."

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. The convoy spotted a number of creatures in the distance that might have been cause for concern if they had been traveling any slower. One, a demon known as Thorn-Head demon charged the passing vehicles but it had never stood a chance of catching them. The hellish monstrosity with moose antlers bellowed its fury behind them as it quickly faded into the distance.

As the sun threatened to set, they began keeping an eye open for a suitable area to stop for the evening. An ideal spot was impossible to locate so the group had to settle for a small clearing in the woods with access to the road but not visible from it. They weren't the first group of wanderers to stop at this site and it was likely that they wouldn't be the last.

Supper was eaten in much the same fashion as lunch had been earlier. Each of the group had to take a two hour shift standing guard over the others while they slept. It was a normal arrangement for those traveling in the North American wilderness. Six hours of interrupted sleep wouldn't be too taxing for one night and it was hoped that there would be more people to share the burden soon.

The men all took off their helmets to sleep, but none of them felt at ease enough to strip it off completely. It made sleeping uncomfortable but it was something that was bearable for one or two nights.

It turned out to be a wise precaution when Dale woke everyone on her watch by repeatedly blowing the horn on Matthew's truck. Not having achieved deep sleep in any case, all three men quickly grabbed their helmets and weapons before charging out of the backs of their various trucks.

What they found were four images of Dale facing off against four snarling, red-eyed dogs. The dogs were larger than normal, with burly muscles under black fur. There was no denying their supernatural aspect. Each of them was pairing off with on of the images of Dale. One of them was sure to get the real thing.

The men wasted no time in opening fire on the beasts. Reese and Donald concentrated the fire from their Wilks brand laser rifles on one while Matthew stitched another with his pulse rifle. The blasts caught the beasts by surprise and scorched their hellish hides. Now Dale's rescuers had the undivided attention of two of her attackers. Even the two that weren't hit paused to evaluate the new arrivals.

With the monsters sufficiently distracted, Dale was able to complete an incantation that saw two of the beasts entangled in an eldritch web. The other two were charging their assailants despite a barrage of laser fire. Chanting once more, Dale stopped the one after Matthew dead in its tracks. Unable to tear its feat from the ground, it howled its impotent fury into the night.

The fourth was cut down by determined laser fire. When it's burned and lifeless husk hit the ground, the men moved on to rain concentrated laser fire on the three incapacitated monsters before the effects of Dales magic wore off. Soon the unearthly howling was silenced.

Matthew went to check on Dale. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "But I'm glad that you boys arrived when you did."

"That's good." Further words of comfort were cut off when a distant howl was heard. "Everyone mount up!" Matthew ordered. "Sounds like the rest of the pack is on its way."

Piling into hover trucks and firing up electric engines, they were skidding back to the road when more of the unnatural hounds were spotted crossing the trail in the direction the group had been heading the previous day.

Focusing grimly, Matthew accelerated into them. Only one didn't get out of the way fast enough and yelped as the trucks bumper plowed it underneath the vehicle. The body continued to roll as the next two trucks also smashed its body on the way by. As soon as the convoy was past, it stood up and shook itself off.

The demon dogs they just passed gave chase but quickly fell behind. More sprang from the tree line on either side of the trail but none could catch the speeding hover trucks.

Adrenaline didn't wear off for any of them until after the sun peaked up over the horizon. There were no thoughts of stopping for breakfast.

An hour after sunrise, Matthew spotted a four-wheel drive truck pulled off the side of the road with the hood up. Someone in camouflage painted Bushman armor was bent over the grill and examining the engine compartment. Beside the front tire lay a two foot tall corpse of a being that in an earlier age may have been described as being an imp.

Matthew flipped the radio toggle that linked his truck to the other two. "What do you think guys, should we stop to help?"

"Yeah, those hounds are sure to find him if he's stranded here without a vehicle." Donald's voice came over the radios speaker.

Reese's voice followed. "With any luck, I should be able to fix up his ride. It's a Big Boss model ATV out of the Manistique. I've got some parts for it in the back."

"All right, we'll wheel around. Don and I will secure the area and cover you, Reese."

"Roger." Was soon repeated by the other drivers.

Reese passed Donald's truck after it paused on the road and then he parked it in the middle of the convoy. More cautious than Matthew, his helmet was always on when driving so he only had to grab his rifle before going to greet the stranger. "Good day! Having a spot of trouble?"

Having seen the three vehicles pass by and then double back, the stranded individual had stopped fiddling under the hood and grabbed his own weapon. It was a pulse laser assault weapon designed for chemically augmented juicers before the great cataclysm. The JA-12 he held had been passed down for generations although this particular weapon had never been used by augmented humans like many of its brothers.

It was a highly valued weapon for its long range, pulse shot capability and four shot over-under grenade launcher. Like most energy weapons it used an E-clip to power it. Like the JA-11 model before it, the rifle had a built in energy cell that supplemented the weapons ammo capacity. While the Coalition States had recently introduced removable "E-Cells" for its own weapons line, the JA series e-cells were all integral and had to be recharged while still attached to the weapon. Nor could they be swapped out in battle. Only the e-clip could be.

Reese recognized it from an ancient manual he once read. He never thought he'd get to see one this close up, despite rumors that Northern Gun had reversed engineered the German design and were set to release it in the near future.

The stranger held the weapon, cradled in his arms but didn't take a hostile posture. "Yeah." He gestured to the corpse on the ground. "Little bugger got into the works while I was down by the stream, killing supper." This time the stranger gestured to the other side of the truck were a slain deer lay.

The impish creature with several charred holes in its body was something out of Reese's nightmares. While not nearly as up on the identification of odd critters as Matthew was, Reese nevertheless recognized a gremlin when he saw one. Unlike so many creatures that shunned technology, this one was attracted to it, if only to wreak havoc with it.

As for the deer, it had been tagged right thru the heart with a high powered projectile rifle. Had the stranded hunter used the energy weapon he now held, it would have vaporized half the animal and left the other half badly burned.

"Bad time to be stuck. We ran into a pack of hell hounds about an hour back down the trail. Thought you could maybe use some help." Reese stuck out his hand. "Name's Reese."

The hunter accepted the hand. "Ashton. Ashton Walker. Sure am glad you stopped. Hell hounds don't hunt after dark, but there's plenty of other critters that ain't so discriminating about the time of day, here abouts."

"Mind if I take a look under the hood?" Reese asked, gesturing to the maimed vehicle.

Ashton stepped aside and Reese immediately dived under the hood. Just as quickly he jerked back out from under. "My god, what did you do to piss that little guy off? Never mind, his kind don't need a reason. Sorry to tell you this fella, but that engine is a complete write off. Looks like he had his way with the computer as well. Tires look good though." He kicked one. "Other than that, this thing is so much scrap metal."

"I was afraid of that." Ashton sighed. "I don't suppose I could maybe get a ride with you folks to the next town? I've got some furs, meat and hides to trade so I'll be able to pay you back."

Reese thought he saw a potential opportunity. "You're a hunter, right? You've got some good gear on you so I'll bet you do alright for yourself."

"It's true. The hunting is alright but the real money is in the big game hunting parties and hiring out as a local guide." Ashton was also starting to smell an opportunity. "You folk maybe looking for someone to help you thru the wilderness? I'm pretty familiar with every thing as far west as the hive-lands and as far east as Old Bones. Been as far south as Chi-Town and as far north as old Ottawa."

"Impressive. You may be just what we need. Hold tight." Reese spun about and strolled over to Matthew's cab. "Hey boss. We may have a recruit here. Guy's a hunter and a guide. Knows the area fairly well. Plus he's not in a spot to be overly picky about employment."

"One more guy to stand watch and one more gun in a fight. Sounds like good things to me." Dale provided. She had already used her mental powers to examine his aura. Every living creature had an aura that told anyone who knew how to look a great deal about that creature. Some beings could fake their auras but not enough to discard anything gleaned from a scan. Ashton's aura showed him to be a regular, healthy human. There was nothing to suggest that he wasn't anything than he appeared—a stranded trapper.

Matthew didn't have Dale's extraordinary abilities but did have a keen sense of observation. There was nothing about this scene that set off any warning bells within his mind. "Sounds like a good idea. Bring him over, and we'll hash out the details."

Reese waved the man over. Immediately slinging his rifle, Ashton strode over to join the others. "Howdy."

Matthew smiled. "Howdy yourself. I'm Dr. Matthew James."

"We all just call him Doc." Dale provided. "On account of him not being a real doctor. I'm Dale."

Through an exercise of will, Matthew managed not to strangle Dale or even sigh. "I study humanoid cultures and we're all on a mission of exploration. Our intent is to eventually head east and see what's going on there. We're based out of New Crater City but we're headed to Upper Michigan to recruit some protection. If you're interested, we'll hire you on at two thousand credits a month plus some reasonable expenses."

"Hmmm." Ashton considered. "I can take you as far as Iron Heart territory, if you're planning to use the Ferry there. I've got some goods to sell there anyway. From there I'll have to figure out if I want to stay with you all. But I'll take you that far for free since you are doing me a favor too. If I stay on, then you can start paying me."

"Fair enough." Matthew agreed. "Why don't you grab your stuff and load it into Reese's truck. You can ride shotgun with him the rest of the way."

Ashton and Reese cross-loaded Ashton's truck into Reese's while the others continued to keep watch. Reese didn't even complain about the mess that a gutted deer made in the back of his truck, thinking of a venison dinner.

With the convoy underway again, Reese's truck fell in behind the others. Without being told, Ashton grabbed his JA-12 and went up the roof hatch. He popped down for a moment to set the radio channel in his helmet to that of the convoy's. Reese handed him a universal cord to plug into his helmet so they could use the trucks sub-net to talk.

Bored, Ashton started making idle conversation. "New Crater City… I've only been there once. Seemed like a bunch of techie humans."

"Yeah, pretty much." Reese agreed. "We've got our fair share of D-Bee's but they know their place. A lot of them are actually pretty helpful. I've heard there's a couple mages living in the city but they keep to themselves. That's not counting the ones in the militia of course—whole different lot they are, very civic minded." Reese had spent his entire life in New Crater City except for a couple years spent as an engineering apprentice in Ishpeming. He loved his home city and thought it pretty much had the best system going of any place he'd ever heard of.

"Sounds like a nice place to live." Ashton said with some admiration. "Not really a city type of guy myself. I enjoy the great outdoors too much."

"You're crazy." Reese argued. "The wilderness is full of monsters with big gnashy claws and nasty teeth. I'll take a walled city any day."

"People have proven again and again to be the most dangerous creature of all." Ashton countered. "That's why the CS are the big boys here in North America. The biggest, baddest, meanest pack of the nastiest, most mean spirited creatures around all gathered into one."

"Sounds like you're no fan of the Coalition." Reese commented with no feeling on the subject either way.

"Sure I am." Ashton disagreed. They've got all the survival traits I've seen in the most successful apex predators in the wild. It's hard not to admire those traits, especially when you're the same species."

Reese laughed heartily. "You've got a point there, buddy."

"What about you?" Ashton inquired, "What are your views on the CS?"

"Haven't any real contact with them." Reese shrugged. "They got their ways of doing things and it seems to be working for them. Working pretty well when you figure they are THE power in North America, so who am I to judge? I'm not a D-Bee or a mage and my psychic abilities aren't really a threat to them. I don't have a beef with them and I can't imagine they'd have one with me so I reckon, it's live and let live."

"You're psychic?" Ashton asked with interest. "What sort?"

"My powers are very weak. They developed along with my interest with machinery and engineering and they help me in that area. I read really fast and have a photographic memory. My real claim to fame is a psychokinetic ability that lets me meld mentally with a machine. Gives me a real leg up when diagnosing or repairing stuff."

"Yeah, I guess if the CS could accept any sort of psychic, it would be one with an affinity with technology." Ashton said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should try for citizenship at one of the fortress cities. I'm sure they could make use of your abilities."

"Just because I've got no quarrel with them doesn't mean I want to join them." Reese chuckled. "I like it in New Crater City. I've got six years minimum left of service in the militia. After that I figure I might go to work for CyberTech Industries for maybe twenty years. I'll have two good pensions so I'll be able to retire or perhaps start up my own shop or company. That would be great." Reese smiled to himself as he thought about it.

"Sounds like you've got your life mapped out pretty good. Sounds like a nice retirement plan, too. Me, I figure I'll wind up living in a log cabin up north some place. Maybe have a generator, maybe not." Ashton shrugged. The future still seemed a long way off for the young man. "You mentioned that you still had six years of service left with the militia. Does this mean this exploration mission is part of that service?"

"Sure is." Reese agreed. "A six month camping trip in the wild for us city slickers."

"Are all of you from New Crater City?" Ashton seemed surprised.

"Well, most of us are." Reese supplied. "Matt… I mean Doc, met Dale in Lazlo and recruited her. Have to admit, she accounted herself well against those hell hounds."

Ashton snorted. "It really sounds like you guys could use my services."

"No argument here, pal." Reese agreed.

"I think it's time I started earning my keep." Ashton said after a moment. "We're coming up to the border of Iron Heart. This is one of the more used trails so it's heavily patrolled. If we don't want any awkward questions about Dale from a Psi-Stalker or Dog Pack, we better take a different route."

Reese toggled the radio so that everyone could hear him. "Ashton here says that the CS patrols the road up ahead. He doesn't think the Dog Boys'll like the smell of Dale."

"Hey! If anyone here stinks, it's you, grease monkey!" There were sounds of a struggle over the radio. "No, I'm not going to give you back the receiver. You just concentrate on the road ahead. You almost hit that tree back there! Which one? Pick one, they'd all be right! Sorry about that guys, the Doc here is trying to teach me how to drive by showing me all the things I shouldn't do. Anyway, don't sweat it. I'll hide this coat and they won't suspect a thing."

"Those Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers can sense a magic user or psychic even when they aren't using their powers. Especially up close. All the more reason to put some distance between us since they patrol this road." Ashton frowned behind his armors mask as he anticipated her next objection. "They might be willing to overlook a couple of relatively two-bit psychics but a mage will put them on the war path, for sure."

"Trust me, would ya?" Dale insisted. "I've got it totally covered."

Ashton sighed. "It's your funeral."

Just as the bushman had predicted, a CS roadblock soon loomed ahead of them. The blockade was made up of sixteen members. Three were suited up in SAMAS power armor, flanking one side of the road. One was manning a long range communications suite in the back of an open air hover car. Two soldiers armed with plasma cannons were stationed by a token crossing barrier that was painted bright yellow and black. Three Psi-Stalkers backed up by seven genetically enhanced, humanoid psi-hounds stood in front of the barrier. Three of the so called Dog Boys were armed with plasma cannons while all the rest had standard infantry weapons.

Those forces alone were far more than the small convoy could possibly hope to take on. Odds were that more CS military assets were only a radio call away. Combat here would be suicide and running didn't offer much more chance of survival. This really was the point of no return, either the group would be allowed to carry on or else any number of bad things could happen. If things went bad, the best they could hope for was to be simply turned away at the border. None of them wanted to consider other, more dire scenarios.

All three trucks landed single file in front of the blockade. Both sentries dropped down from roof hatches and no one moved in a way that could at all be considered hostile. One of the Psi-Stalkers walked up to Matt's side of the cab while the remaining Stalkers and their hounds walked up, down and around all the vehicles.

With his helmet on, Matthew couldn't see the albino white skin or bald head of the Psi-Stalker that approached his window. The skull like faceplate of the composite armor was much like that of any other CS trooper. What gave away his status were the letters PSI emblazoned on his chest and the spikes adorning the skull cap of the armor.

"What's your business in the Coalition State of Iron Heart?" The voice was deep and had a no-nonsense, no-humor seriousness about it. Otherwise it was like any other humans, which surprised Matthew. Psi-Stalkers were a mutant offshoot of the human race that had formidable sensitive psionic abilities. They were very closely attuned when it came to sensing magic or psionic energy in others. What surprised Matthew about this ones voice was that they also had a reputation of being savage—almost beast like. Apparently the Coalition was able to 'domesticate' some of them.

"We're just passing thru." Matthew was calm, despite the proximity of the CS psychic and his magic using friend beside him. "On our way to Ishpeming and we want to use the Ferry."

The Psi-Stalker grunted in an uninterested way. "Are you carrying any books, pre-rifts items or any other contra-band?"

"Not that I know of." Dr. James lied expertly. Expecting the question, his well disciplined mind didn't think about the secret compartment in his own cargo bed.

While Matthew was being interrogated, the other drivers were being asked to open up the cargo areas of their trucks so they could be searched. The cargo area of his own truck was much easier to access than the other two, and the searchers simply pulled the canvas aside to look inside. Listening carefully, Matthew noted that they didn't seem interested in actually getting into the back.

"Are there any mages or D-Bee's in your party?" The Psi-Stalker said with the bored tone of someone who was already pretty sure they already knew the answer and it wasn't anything to be concerned about.

"Not at all." Matthew denied, trying not to lay it on too thick. "We don't have any business with those kinds of scum." He spit out the window to emphasize his point.

"Yeah! Can you imagine us giving a ride to those monsters and traitors?" Dale also spit out her window with enthusiasm, if not good aim when she nearly nailed a Psi-hound in the back of the head. It caught its attention but it didn't respond, agreeing with Dale's expressed sentiment.

One of the other Psi-Stalkers came back from the rear of the convoy to report. "One of the trucks is set up as a portable clinic and the other is most certainly a mechanics truck. Some expensive gear but nothing illegal. One of them has what looks like a Juicers weapon, but he's a norm. Looks like a bush basher to me."

The Psi-Stalker questioning Matt nodded in the same bored way. "Good. Good." He turned his attention back to Matt. "Well, everything seems to be in order. So once you pay the border toll, you can be on your way."

"Of course." Matt smiled inwardly. "And how much will that be?"

"Two-thousand credits per vehicle. I trust you can afford it, unless you want a much more _thorough _search of your vehicles?" Despite the veiled threat, the Psi-Stalker still seemed bored.

"Of course." Matt agreed as he pulled out his universal card, thankful that he had an expense account to cover all these 'tolls'.

As soon as the transaction was complete, the barrier was raised and the convoy was again on its way.

Matt didn't trust himself to talk until the blockade was well out of sight. "Okay Dale, how the hell did you pull that off? They had us dead to rights but they didn't so much as take a second sniff of you."

Dale smiled as she fingered a ring on her right hand. It didn't appear extraordinary in anyway. To Matt it appeared as a somewhat tarnished silver ring with three large semi-precious gemstones he couldn't quite identify. "This here family heirloom has some special properties. I can use a spell I know to transfer my entire mystical and psychic 'essence' into this ring. The ring itself betrays no aura, even when it carries my essence. The only downside is that I can't access my powers when they're stored away like this. But as long as it's in contact with my skin, I can recall them anytime I want to."

"That's something else." Matthew stated. He was fairly well versed in magical lore and realized that the ability for something to totally conceal its aura was rare and was usually only found in powerful artifacts. That lone ability made it invaluable for any mage wishing to operate in or near CS territory. It didn't surprise him that she had kept it a secret until now. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what other abilities the simple looking ring possessed.

Soon the quality of the trail improved. It became more recognizable as a well maintained road. Even the woods on either side of the route looked somehow less threatening. Everyone felt much more relaxed. Dale was so at ease that she waved at a passing squad of CS sky cycles. She was certain that one of them waved back but Matthew disagreed, arguing that they wouldn't have been able to make out her wave at their height and speed.

The path came to a T-junction that was paved. One way went on to the capital of Iron Heart. The other went to Baymouth which was where the Ferry ran from. Almost lazily, the trucks each turned left towards the small port city and Lake Huron.

By skipping lunch earlier, they were able to make the small city of twenty-thousand before night fall. They were met at the city perimeter by a smaller version of the blockade encountered at the border. The routine was the same, but without any tolls.

The first order of business was finding a place to eat. A family run diner fit the bill and everyone's meals were put on Matthew's expense card along with a generous tip. Ashton suggested a motel they could all stay at for a reasonable cost and where he could put his meat on ice for the night. The party agreed to wait for him to sell his goods the next day and give him time to make his decision about joining them. It wasn't like they were on a strict timetable or anything.

In the morning, Ashton woke before any of the others and had a small, quick breakfast before gathering his goods. He hailed a privately owned taxi and headed to a merchant he'd dealt with before and who always gave him a fair price. It only took most the morning to haggle out a deal. It was a social interaction both men enjoyed.

That business done, Ashton Walker casually went up to the local military outpost. Showing ID at the entrance, he was permitted into the compound. He made a bee line to the long range communications post where he again presented his credentials and requested a line to the City of Iron. He waited in the mess hall and shot some pool while he waited for the necessary messages to be relayed and the required person to be contacted.

A uniformed communications specialist fetched Ashton when the party on the other end was finally ready. He sat down in a curtained booth with earphones used for discreet messages.

Ashton was all business. "Private Walker reporting in, sir."

A stunning blonde, female officer was on the screen before him. Unlike him, she was in uniform. Ice blue eyes scanned his unshaven face. "Your leave isn't up, Private. You've got a week left before you have to return here."

"Something has come up, sir." Female officers in the Coalition States could use either the honorific Ma'am or Sir. Special Forces Lieutenant Knight preferred the neutrality of sir.

"What's so important that you felt the need to report back a week early?" The lieutenant admired his dedication but this was highly irregular. She had authorized the extra leave for him herself. He had earned it, sniping a D-Bee mage with his JA-12 from a mile away. A lot of officers were strict about using CS gear only, but Lieutenant Knight was lenient about her troops using captured gear. The fact was that they were often out on missions where CS gear would have been inappropriate.

"While I was out, my truck was dispatched by a minor demon. Three hover trucks happened by and offered me a lift back into Iron Heart territory. Since there was a pack of hell hounds in the area, I accepted despite the presence of a mage. As it turned out, I learned that they were a scouting party for the city-state of New Crater City. They are on their way to Upper Michigan to recruit some protection. They also expressed an interest in recruiting me and my wilderness skills." Private Walker delivered his report in his usual professional manner.

"So? New Crater City is hardly significant. We have a couple of operatives present on the inside and they continue to report nothing of interest." Lieutenant Knight was slightly irritated. She couldn't afford to lose an asset like Walker to follow along with some expedition from a minor power that was most likely doomed anyway.

"It's the mage, sir." Private Walker continued. "We were stopped by a border patrol. They had a complete Dog Pack and two Psi-Stalkers to spare. Not one of them so much as raised an eyebrow at her. Not even when she nearly missed spitting on one of the Dog Boys."

Lieutenant Knight examined her subordinates face for sometime, looking for some sign of exaggeration or doubt. It wasn't his style but what he was suggesting had grave implications for the defense of the Coalition States. If even one mage could slip past the screen of psychic assets that protected all the fortress cities, than they could wreak bloody havoc. Anything up to and including the assassination of Emperor Prosek and his son would be possible. More importantly, discovering and confirming such an ability could have serious implications for her career progression. "Listen up private. Your leave has just been cancelled and you've been reassigned to special ops. You are to infiltrate this team and gather all the information you can about all its members. Do not engage or sabotage at this time unless they take direct action against the Coalition States or its allies. Under no circumstances are you to reveal your connection to the CS and most especially its military. Commit a total purge of your possessions as soon as this transmission ends. This includes your military and civilian ID's. I will attempt to contact you again in Upper Michigan. If that should prove impractical, you are to report back here thru the usual channels as soon as you can discharge your mission without compromising your position. Understood?"

"Understood, sir." Ashton nodded once to reinforce that he understood her orders. He had served under her as a sniper and scout for his entire career. During that time they had developed a relationship of mutual respect and understanding. This wasn't the first special op he had been on and he didn't expect it to be the last.

"Good. Knight out." She knew she could trust him to follow his orders to the letter.

Ashton closed his end of the communications circuit and left the booth. He paused at an incendiary garbage disposal to rid himself of any incriminating documentation before leaving the outpost.

The afternoon was passed buying gear he would need for an extended mission in the wilderness. Then he returned to the motel and knocked on Matthew's door. "Good news." He said when the 'Doc' opened the door and greeted him. "I've decided to join your expedition."


	4. Gears of Industry

**Chapter Four:**

**Gears of Industry**

_The peninsula once known as Upper Michigan is one of the most densely populated areas of North America outside of the Coalition States. There are over a hundred communities in this area. Most of these communities are city-states that number under a hundred-thousand. If New Crater City were somehow transplanted here, it would fit right in with its new hypothetical neighbors. _

_Two nations have risen to prominence in the area. The most well known is Ishpeming. Home of the arms manufacturer Northern Gun, it is a virtually a household name in the defense industry. Mercenaries and militias all over North America rely on Northern Gun to supply them. New Crater Cities militia and police force are both equipped exclusively with NG gear. They are even known to supply such mystical communities as Lazlo and Tolkeen. _

_The city-state itself is a highly industrialized metropolis of over half a million. I would guess this makes it the largest technology dependent city outside of the Coalition States. It is without a doubt, a mercenary's paradise. All sorts of human augmentation are available. Bionics and cybernetics are both common commodities. Mind over Matter implants are also available. Bio-Comp chemical augmentation is also easy to acquire here despite the cost to the recipient. And of course, all of Northern Gun's goods can be purchased. This includes a wide array of personal weapons and armor as well as power armor and full sized robots. _

_Education levels are high as one would expect in an industrialized society. The people are rough and tumble, blue collar folks. The population is primarily human although the presence of D-Bee's doesn't raise anyone's eyebrows. Pretty much anyone with money is welcomed here. Magic users can usually be found passing thru, often with mercenary colleagues. They are closely watched by the local authorities here but are not unduly molested. This technological enclave is wary of mystical forces they don't quite understand. _

_It comes as no surprise that Ishpeming maintains a large and extremely well equipped military. They are quite secure in their powerbase and it would take a major upheaval affecting the entire continent to dislodge them. _

_The other major nation in Upper Michigan is the Manistique Imperium. It also a major industrial center that produces a range of military gear for the communities and mercenaries of North America. Its economy is more diversified and includes mining, metal processing and agriculture in addition to its manufactured wares. The main city of Manistique has a population that is a little over half that of Ishpeming but the overall population of the Imperium is higher. _

_Education in the Imperium's cities is also fairly high although that drops sharply in the rural areas. The university in Manistique is probably one of the finest in North America, although I may be biased, having completed my doctorate there. They trail behind Ishpeming in their level of technology but they do produce much of the non-military technological goods for the communities of North America. _

_The population is mostly human although non-humans and mutants are both common and accepted within the Imperium. Psychics are well accepted by the population. Users of magic are seen with only slightly less suspicion than in Ishpeming. _

_The Imperium also maintains a large and well equipped military force. They are easily as stable as Ishpeming. Still, one cannot help but comparing them to their rival, Ishpeming. The two powers are on friendly terms and conduct trade with each other. But there is no forgetting that they are in fact rivals no matter how well they currently get along. _

_-Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Matthew James_

"Good damn piece of junk!" Matthew's cursing cut through the otherwise tranquil morning. "It's a classic, he said! They don't make them like this anymore, he said! I ever see that son of a bitch that sold me this ancient piece of junk; I'll hang him by its wiring harness!" The truth of the matter was that Dr. James actually loved his truck otherwise he could use one of the militaries fleet vehicles like his friends and colleagues, Donald and Reese. Part of the reason for his affection was that it was a restored pre-cataclysm vehicle. So the salesman had been correct, they didn't make them like this anymore—which of course, made that much harder to find proper parts for it.

In a fit of temper, Matthew began to beat on the panel he was trying to remove with his wrench.

"That's right, keep breaking it until it's fixed again." Attracted by the noise, Reese had wandered out of his room to see what the fuss was in the parking lot. He wasn't terribly surprised to find his friend once more attempting repairs on his coveted hover truck. "Why don't you let me help?"

"Bout time you offered." Matthew groused as he pulled himself out from between the two forward thrusters. "Looks like the bolts are rusted—completely seized."

Reese slipped under the damaged vehicle and placed a hand against the panel his friend had been working on. His eyes revealed a sizable dent in the middle of it. A deeper psionic sense told him that the physical damage was interfering with the starting circuit it was designed to protect. Reese's empathy with machines was an increasingly common psychic mutation among those with an affinity with technology.

Like the Psi-Stalkers whose abilities allowed them track psychic, magic and supernatural emanations, it was remotely possible that a new human sub-race was evolving. Unlike Psi-Stalkers who formed their own tribes in the wild and bred true, those with Reese's abilities were found intermittently among the general population. Mechanical affinity seemed to arise more from individual interest than breeding or environment as was the case with Psi-Stalkers.

"Looks like you might have hit that hell hound a little harder than you should have." Reese pulled himself out from under the truck and slapped the dirt off his hands. "The starting circuit's damaged. That's why you didn't find out until this morning, it's the first time you've tried to start her up since powering down. You're right about the seized bolts too. I can drill those out and replace them no problem. I can fix the circuit as well although that's going to take some time."

Matthew sighed. He was glad Reese was along. While he could read a schematic and handle simple wiring problems, this kind of problem took more in-depth expertise. "How long?"

"Hmmm." Reese considered. "Getting that plate off won't be a problem. Neither will reshaping it. I'm going to have to fudge things with that circuit though. I'm going to have to work around what I do and don't have to fix it with. As much as you enjoy the bigger, better hammer theory, some things you can't smash better."

Matthew grimaced. "I've seen you get through on brute strength and ignorance on more than one occasion."

Reese held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm not saying that approach doesn't have its time and place. This just isn't going to be one of those times."

"Yeah, yeah. I got you." Matthew nodded. "I'll help you then. What do you need from your truck?"

"Might was well start with the drill. Bring the case of bits and I'll eyeball them out here." Reese went back under and got comfortable while he waited for Matthew to bring him the tools.

While Reese and Matthew repaired the ancient hover truck, Dale and Don observed from the small restaurant attached to the motel.

"I'm almost sorry that Reese came out." Dale sighed. "It was fun watching Matt curse and throw tools."

"He does that, from time to time." Don allowed himself a smile at his friend's expense. "Matt's actually not a bad mechanic. Not as good as Reese of course but he can find his way around a schematic and do most repairs on his own truck himself. Heck he can patch armor, recharge clips or maintain most weapons in our militia armory. Despite his technical training, he stopped short of becoming an engineer like Reese. He might have made a fair medical or cybernetics doctor if he'd stuck out that route."

Dale turned her attention from the two mechanics trying to wrestle the truck into functioning. "What do you mean?"

"Matt was pretty restless in school." Don shrugged. "He spent a year at the academy learning trades skills but got bored of that so tried for medicine. He did well in that program too, but again got bored. It wasn't until his third year that he seemed to find his niche in studying anthropology. He's taken a lot of interest type courses in things like magic, mythology and lore and they all fed into the field of modern anthropology. His grades were so high by the end of the year that he earned a scholarship to a forth year in the University of the Manistique Imperium. He came home with a complete PhD."

"Sounds like he has trouble making up his mind about things." Dale let the waitress pour her some more coffee before stirring in some sugar and crème for herself. "It's amazing he managed to specialize in any one thing long enough to get a degree."

"It's true." Don didn't drink coffee, preferring tea instead. No sugar or crème for him. "He'll study something long enough to get the basics or until he gets bored and then he moves on. It was the same during our military training—really drove our instructor's nuts at times. But I think that's why he ended up with anthropology. There are so many people and different cultures out there for him to study, there's a good chance he'll never get bored."

"Okay, fair enough." Dale pursed her lips. "But there's still something I don't quite understand I guess. How did he get put in charge of this mission, or perhaps even better, what exactly does New Crater City hope to accomplish with this mission?"

"He convinced our superiors that we were placing ourselves at a severe tactical disadvantage by not understanding the various communities and peoples of North America. Not just in tactical terms but in regards to trading as well. Knowledge is power, he told them, and we were and are sorely lacking in that area. Much of what we do know comes from books that predate the cataclysm. We keep looking to the past for knowledge. It was his argument that if we're to ever progress, we have to start looking forward. But before we can do that, we have to look around and get the lay of the land." Don leaned closer to Dale for a moment. "Personally, I think it was just a way for him to get the government to pay for an extended road trip."

"Okay, I get that." Dale said, smiling at the idea of Matt pulling a fast one over on his superiors. "But are we going to be sneaking into mayor's homes, tallying defenses and sniffing out industrial secrets?"

"Nothing so dubious." Don assured her. "We will simply move around the different communities and learn about the people. Take notes on their system of government, law enforcement and culture. I suppose we'll gather some very basic information regarding defensive capabilities and level of technology but at best what we're gathering could be described as soft intelligence. Very general information."

Dale seemed to be a bit disappointed. She barely looked up when Ashton walked over and joined them at their table.

"Good morning." Ashton said in a quiet, almost shy voice.

"Good morning Ashton." Don greeted the most recent addition to their group. "Had a bit of a delay this morning. Matt's truck isn't quite up to greeting the day yet."

Ashton glanced out the window, "when will it be ready to go?"

"Haven't the foggiest." Don confessed. "You'd have to ask Reese. He's the technical specialist. I'm the traveling physician."

"Morning Ashton." Dale greeted the group's new guide before turning her attention back to Don. "Say, if all we're doing is studying people's culture and stuff, what are you doing along with us? A doctor seems like a bit of overkill, much less a doctor of cybernetic medicine. Wouldn't a medic suffice?"

"So far as the group's most likely medical needs go, Matt really does have all the training needed. I'm along to evaluate the level of medical care given to different communities that we visit. Part of that of course includes the amount of cybernetics and bionics knowledge possessed in other places. I suspect that CyberTech Industries has a particular interest in that area of knowledge." Don sat back and nursed his tea. Dale was far too young for him of course but her attention was flattering, nonetheless.

"Ah ha!" She exclaimed and pointed a finger at Don. "You're a medical spy!" Then she jerked a thumb out the window. "And I suppose Reese is along to evaluate the level of technology of the places we visit?" She didn't wait for Don to confirm or deny her assertion. "I guess I'd better write up reports about the levels of magic practiced then." Dale nodded and sat back against her chair with a certain satisfaction.

Both Dale and Don found themselves turning to regard Ashton for a moment. He felt the need to make a contribution. "I'll make sure you all find your way to the places you're going." All this talk of spies made him a little self-conscience Even as a special operative, he preferred to observe his subjects through a pair of binoculars—or even better, a snipers scope.

"Good." Dale nodded in approval. "I'd hate to be lost in the wilderness with this collection of geeks. They wouldn't know what plants were edible or would eat you!"

"I happen to be very well versed in botany." Don retorted. "It's actually part of my mandate to collect samples of exotic flora for study." The truth was that he'd taken a course on botany in preparation for this mission. He settled down and then nodded to Ashton. "Of course I'd be more than welcome any knowledge or guidance you could offer in the field of man-eating plants."

Ashton laughed. "I'll do what I can for you. I may not know the scientific name of most things but I guess you could say I have a working knowledge of what bites and what don't."

The three shared a laugh and then ordered breakfast for themselves.

Crossing of the Lake Hudson by ferry had to be delayed until sunrise the next day as Matthew's hover truck wasn't ready to go by the time the last one departed that day. Ferry's only made the crossing during the day. No less than three vessels made the trip from the CS state of Iron Heart to Upper Michigan but none of them would travel at night.

That was the first line of defense for the ferry crossing, to reduce the time they were on the open water during dangerous times. The second line of defense was speed. The ships cruised along at 50 knots and didn't stop for anything. The third line of defense were patrols conducted by the unimpressive Coalition blue water navy and even less daunting mercenary patrols out of Ishpeming.

Should all of those measures fail, then the ferries had armored hulls and weapon systems to defend themselves. Given the nature of most travelers aboard, the crew could usually count on some passengers pitching in to defend the ferry.

The ferry service was generally seen as the quickest and safest way between the otherwise isolated bastions of humanity. Still, until recently, there had been four ferries that made the journey.

Crossing was not cheap. Each vehicle had to pay 2500 credits and each person had to pay 500 credits. So a group the size of Dr. James' convoy cost 10,000 credits to make the voyage. There was no room for negotiation as there had been with earlier road tolls. Nor was there any guarantee of being delivered safely to the desired destination. The very idea of a guarantee was now largely an archaism. Still, the service was widely used by merchants and mercenaries.

On this occasion, speed was enough to keep the vessel and her passengers safe and sound.

The ferry deposited it's passengers in the independent city of New Munising. This free port fell between Ishpeming and the Manistique and was equally important to both powers for trade. With a population of nearly a hundred thousand and a strategic location, it was a minor power in its own right. It maintained its neutrality and prospered by playing all the other powers in the area off one another.

As an independent port and border town, it was a rough and tumble place. Not only were weapons and armor common but power armor, robots and military vehicles were all very common sights within the city limits. The local defense force acted to protect the local citizens and to prevent large scale property damage. Otherwise they left mercenaries and travelers to fend for themselves.

As a neutral power, one was as likely to encounter Coalition soldiers, mercenaries, mages, psychics, D-Bee's and many other sorts. Monsters or so-called demons were about the only things the local defense force turned away and even they might get in if there was someone around to vouch for them. That isn't to say that these varied people got along with one another—far from it. Passers-thru often disappeared without so much as a raised eyebrow from the local authorities. Those with bounties on their heads had to tread carefully in a place such as this.

Bounty hunters weren't a concern for Dr. James and his crew. Still, security was an issue that was never far from anyone's mind. With much of the day already spent on board a ferry, they didn't dare venture out before sunup the next day. That meant spending the night in a tavern. The place they chose had its own parking garage and provided security for both vehicles and patrons. It cost a bit more, but it was deemed worth it for a good nights sleep.

Matthew woke early the next morning for his usual ritual of maintenance for his truck. Then he met the others in the taverns dining area for breakfast.

"She going to live?" Reese asked as Matthew joined them.

"Until I get so fed up at it that I riddle it with ion blasts." Matthew took a seat between Dale and Don. "You guys order yet?"

"Naw, we were waiting for you." Dale replied as she leaned back in her chair. "So where we headed to next, exactly?"

"I was thinking of Ishpeming next." Matthew said as he opened the menu. He grimaced at the greasy selection of pictures facing him. At least it was still better than boiled rations. "I picked up a map at the dock. The roads around here are all pretty good—paved and regularly patrolled. Lots of towns and small cities too so there's not much danger of getting stranded anywhere."

"I'm surprised Matt." Don commented. "I would think you'd want to visit old friends in the Manistique."

"There'll be time for that later. I want to get our protection secured first." After some consideration, Matthew decided he would order the 'truckers' platter. The picture promised six pieces of bacon, four slices of toast, three eggs done to the diners preference, a heaping pile of hash browns and a couple of large sausages. Coffee or juice was extra. He imagined that the place got decent business from the drivers of transport trucks of both the wheeled and hover variety. The entire Upper Michigan area was a bustling hub for commerce in North America. "I'll feel a lot more at ease when we've got more guns riding shotgun and more bodies to stand stag at night."

"Aren't you being a bit paranoid?" Reese challenged. "We're in one of the most developed areas in North America. This area has never been overly active, magically speaking and there really hasn't been a monster problem here for decades."

"Monsters aren't the only danger on the road." Matthew pointed out. "We could still have troubles with out of work mercenaries who've turned to banditry as a way to make ends meet. Besides, our eventual destination is the east coast. Ishpeming is as far west as we'll be going."

"Yes, but we'll have to backtrack anyway since we have to be west to get out of this peninsula." Ashton pointed out. "It's true there will be some backtracking even if we go to the Manistique first, but it will be less than if we went to Ishpeming first."

Matthew sighed. "You have a point, Ashton. We'll go to the Manistique first. Then we'll swing west and go to Ishpeming. We'll keep going west and then follow the shore of Lake Michigan south. We'll avoid Tolkeen on this trip. We'll have to cut through the Coalition State of Chi-Town, and I suppose we may as well check out the fortress city itself while we're in the area." He looked over at Dale. "Can you keep your abilities hidden indefinitely?"

"Sure can." She nodded. "But remember I can't access them while they're hidden away."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'd like to get a day pass into the city itself if I can, but even if I can't then even seeing the 'Burbs will be insightful." He considered for a moment. "Even if day passes can be secured, I think it'll be best if Dale stays on the outside, which means we'll have to split up."

"You don't have to worry about me." Dale said confidently. "I've been to Chi-Town's 'Burbs tons of times. I know my way around."

"Awfully cocky, aren't you?" Reese was surprised at Dale's attitude. "I've heard that the CS shoots mages on sight."

"Only if they know they're dealing with one." Dale pointed out. "And you'd be surprised what some Coalition types will tolerate. Especially in the 'Burbs. Especially for a fully loaded cred card."

"Still, I'd feel better about your safety if you stayed on the outside." Matthew insisted. "We'll work out who'll stay out with you when we get there." He glanced around the table. Don and Reese were both psychics and that could cause some problems. Ashton didn't seem to possess any powers so it was likely he'd be okay to take inside. And of course Matthew himself was an un-mutated, ordinary human so there shouldn't be any problem there either.

"Alright!" Dale said with her usual enthusiasm. "Now that we've got that out of the way, let's have breakfast and get on with it."

There was hearty agreement all around and breakfast was quickly ordered and consumed. Matthew worked out the route they'd take as well as the final details. They'd be in the Manistique for a day and a night and then they'd be off to Ishpeming where they'd stay until they'd recruited anyone else they might need for the job. Two or three mercenaries were deemed to be enough. It was certainly all Matthew's budget would allow.

Travel in Upper Michigan wasn't the ordeal that it was in other parts of North America. It was a sign that humanity was finally reclaiming the world after unknown hundreds of years. Roads were paved and well patrolled. There were even speed limits and other street regulations in most parts of the Upper Peninsula. Enforcement of these rules fell to the nearest city-state as did maintenance and security. The pay-off to well maintained roads was increased revenues from trade.

The journey to Manistique City only took a few hours. The city was the capital of the Manistique Imperium as well as being the location of the Manistique University. It was the very same University where Dr. James had completed his formal education. Outside of the Coalition States, was probably the best educational institution on the continent.

So far as the mission went, there wasn't a lot of cause for the stop at Manistique. For Dr. James and Dr. Corwin, it was a chance to catch up with a number of old friends. They spent the afternoon and most the evening doing just that. Travel and communication being what it was, such interactions were a key way to keep up with what was happening elsewhere.

Reese was more interested in seeing what was new in the realm of technology. Ishpeming was the place to go for mercenaries and military hardware. The Imperium filled out the other, less flashy technological spectrum. It was also part of his mandate to compare the levels of technology between Upper Michigan and New Crater City. Not much had changed since his last visit to the area which was exactly what was expected.

Ashton on the other hand was completely out of his element. Cities to him were a place to sell one's goods and to re-supply. Occasional use of various entertainment venues offered some distraction to wilderness trappers such as him but it was in the bush that he felt most comfortable.

Dale, abandoned by the others for the moment, was in her element in a technological enclave. She didn't disdain technology as did others who practiced her art. She embraced it as readily as she did her natural gifts. Noting that Ashton seemed to be restless, she dragged him out to one of the many arcades in the cities main strip.

"I don't see the point of this." He complained as he was dragged into a brightly lit enclave. MEGABIT was proclaimed in green neon above the entrance. Not that he knew what it said, being completely illiterate.

"The point," Dale explained as she hauled her companion over to the shooting gallery area, "is to have a little fun while we have a chance."

"By shooting at digital displays?" Ashton was quite dubious. "I don't see how. I mean, look at these things. The scopes are totally useless. The scale on the screens are right out to lunch. These things aren't like real shooting in any way." He shook his head at the one they stopped at. "And this one seems to be about shooting Coalition soldiers. How is that fun, as opposed to, I don't know, suicidal?"

The game that Dale had paused at was called "Shoot 'Em Dead, Boy." Sure enough, there were simulated Coalition soldiers in their signature skull mask armor on a battlefield. The goal of the game was to shoot as many of them as you could before they eventually swarmed over your position. It was an immensely popular game.

Dale dropped a couple of credit coins into the machine and then picked up one of the fake, plastic pulse laser rifles. "What's the matter, Ashton? Can't hack it?"

He gave her an incredulous look before picking up the other rifle. Without a further word, he began laying waste to his digital opponents.

His uncanny accuracy actually caused Dale to pause. Time and again he landed shots against the enemies head. He never took more than one shot and never paused to see if he hit. There was never any doubt in his mind as he sought out the next target for destruction. Shaking her head, Dale tried—and failed—to keep up.

Such activities while once common and taken for granted during the age of man, were now luxuries to be cherished when they could be had. Places like upper Michigan were the exception in the new world order. Peace and tranquility were illusions paid for with blood and sacrifice. If not by local militia's, then with able and plentiful mercenaries who made a livelihood out of battle and danger.

The peace, prosperity and technology drew mercenaries to the region like no place else in North America. Many were hired to maintain the security that had first attracted them. Many others were hired away by those seeking that same safety that they could offer. There was never a shortage of work for those who could and would fight.

So the next day when the scouting party left behind the Manistique for Ishpeming, there was no doubt that they wouldn't have to look long for the protection they sought. It would only be a matter of how far they could stretch their credit resources.

After getting a hotel room, Dr. James posted ads at numerous mercenary gathering points throughout the city. The posted notes detailed the intended mission, duration of employment and rate of pay along with the general abilities of those already part of the mission. The ads also told interested parties that they could go in person for an interview in the hotel bar. A healthy tip to the bar staff ensured that perspective mercenaries would find their way to Dr. James' table.

All of this was a common and accepted procedure for those hiring protection. It was also highly effective. Dr. James was hardly settled into his seat along with his travel companions when the first applicants were arriving to discuss the potential employment.

More mercenaries had to be turned away because they were over qualified then because they lacked merits. The more experienced and better equipped warriors of fortune could and did demand larger payments than was available in the budget. They had to be turned away with no hard feelings. There was no doubt these individuals would find suitable arrangements by the days end.

What Dr. James was looking for were competent fighters who had yet to prove themselves. The Joe grunts of the mercenary world, ready to take any work until they finally found their big score or made a name for themselves somehow.

One such candidate was dragged to the table by Reese. The engineering whiz had been looking into the newly opened Triax Robotics shop elsewhere in the city. He had found a great deal of interest there although all of it was far more expensive than the more common Northern Gun products. The robotics systems especially were really cutting edge and he had spent a good chunk of the day discussing them with some of the shop's service technicians.

The conversation had been interrupted by an eight foot tall, crimson red Cyborg. "Excuse me." He said in heavily accented English. "I heard you talking here, about these technologies." The borg swept a massive arm around the show room. "Is it possible that you seek power? Because you are going out into the dangerous wilds, yes?"

Reese's eyes went wide at the sight of the speaker. He hadn't even heard of a Triax VX-500 Manhunter Cyborg before, much less seen one. Cyborgs were the ultimate synthesis of man and machine. The VX-500 had very little left of the original human inside its combat chassis. Some feared that such 'Borgs" were in danger of losing all their humanity. Indeed, if there was any humanity within the Borg at all, it wasn't visible on its monstrous face mask.

The technophile swallowed hard as he gazed up at the querying cyborg. "Um, yes, that's right."

Laughter boomed from the looming Cyborg. "This is good. I am newly arrived here from the New German Republic and seek gainful employment. If you go where danger is, I will protect you, my squishy little friend!" The VX-500 put its arm around Reese in a manner of old comrades. "I am Kirk! What are you called, my squishy little comrade?"

Again Reese gulped hard. "I'm Reese."

"Good! It is a good name!" Kirk bellowed. "We go now. To the tavern to share many glorious lies of battle!"

"Eh, well…" Reese wasn't exactly sure how to tell the massive machine that had its arm wrapped firmly around his own frail little body that he couldn't exactly hire him, just like that. "I'll have to introduce you to my boss, Dr. James. He's the one doing all the hiring."

Unfazed, the Cyborg nodded. "Off we go then! Let us get these formalities out of the way and move on with the evening festivities. Those lies will not tell themselves!" With that, he half dragged, half carried an increasingly concerned Reese out into the street.

In the time that it took to get to the hotel, the boisterous cyborg had actually begun to grow on Reese. He reckoned if Kirk was that scary when he was being friendly, then he would certainly be an asset should he decide to become unfriendly.

So he wasted no time in showing Kirk to Dr. James and the rest. "Hey guys, I have a recruit!" He gestured to the cyborg towering behind him.

"Ha! You have more squishy friends! This is marvelous!" The mighty cyborg chortled out the words. "I am Kirk, newly arrived from the New German Republic. I need a job, and you… you clearly need me!"

Dr. James blinked at the potential recruit who had just interrupted an interview with a headhunter augmented with a handful of bionics. The negotiations were not going well as the mercenary was demanding four times what could be afforded plus a lion's share of any plunder discovered. "We can only afford to pay you two thousand credits a month. Most salvage we acquire will likely be sent back to our HQ for study although you would get an equal share of whatever was left plus a reasonable finder's fee for the rest." He was fairly certain that would end the negotiations with such a powerful fighter.

To his surprise, it did. "Ha! We have a deal then!" Then he looked down at the headhunter that had whose interview he had interrupted. "You there! Do you work for these people?"

"Well, no…" Came the mercenaries reply.

"Then you are in my seat!" Kirk lifted the man out of the chair and then set him not too gently down on his feet. No longer concerned with the individual, Kirk sat in his chair. It creaked in protest but was ignored by the cyborg. "Why such a long face, Doc? Your troubles are over for you have me to protect you now!" A heavy fist slammed into the table suddenly. "We celebrate! Bring beer!"

There wasn't really much in the way of sustenance that a cyborg needed. Beer would be filtered down until it was little more than water and the waste would be held until it could be expelled conveniently. Nevertheless, Kirk still had his original taste buds and enjoyed the flavor. Even if it was weak and mostly water by his judgment.

Bowing to the inevitability that was Kirk Yager, Dr. James and Reese both joined the Cyborg in several rounds of drinks. Other prospective mercenaries either dispersed or else joined in the festivities.

At one point, Dale asked Matthew, "How are we going to pick anyone else, like this?"

He looked at her somewhat blearily. Trying to keep up with a full conversion borg was not going well for him. "Sh-simple darlin'." He waved his mug at the bar at large. "Whoever'sh left sh-sh-standing at the end, we take with ush!"

She shrugged. It seemed as good a method as any to her.

The next conscious moment Dr. James had was the next morning. Blearily he opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. So he promptly closed them again and waited for the white hot pain to subside. Then he braced himself and slowly opened his eyes again.

The bar room was filled with passed out mercenaries, his own crew included. Reese and Don were both face down in the laps of a pair of D-Bee's that were _probably_ female. Ashton had gotten behind the bar somehow before passing out with his head in the sink. It was probably the best place for him, all things considered. Dale was leaned up against him and snoring nosily.

It seemed that the only one from Matt's crew still going was Kirk. He was sitting at a small table, apparently locked in an arm wrestling match with a straining juicer.

Juicers were chemically augmented super soldiers who traded away most their life in exchange for super human physical abilities. No Juicer lived for a decade after their transformation. Since most Juicers underwent the augmentation in their late teens, few lived to see their thirtieth birthday. In a world where few people lived to see their fortieth birthday, this didn't seem to be such a high price to pay.

Detoxification and a longer life span was possible but few ever attempted it. Most preferred to die in a blaze of glory and laser fire than the half life that was offered by having the drugs purged from their system. After tasting godhood, it was hard to go back to being a mere mortal.

The valiantly struggling teen mercenary was young, even for a Juicer. Yet the augmentation had left him with massive muscles which bulged with his exertions. Even Juicers had little chance of winning a physical contest with a VX-500 series cyborg. That he could even attempt it showed the boys raw power.

Matthew was quite impressed that the boy had managed to hold the cyborg to a stalemate, with neither gaining nor losing ground. The eventual outcome was of course inevitable. Even a Juicer would eventually tire, even if it took days, and then the hydraulics of the cyborg would win out.

The truth of the matter was that Kirk had fallen asleep sometime ago and his joints had merely locked up. Without eye lids to close, there was no way for anyone to know.

Quite unaware of this fact, Dr. James decided to intervene. He couldn't afford to wait until the two juggernauts resolved their competition. Somewhat uneasily he roused himself from, what he discovered to be, a very uncomfortable position. He also woke Dale with his motion for which he received a kick in the calve. With all the other pain he was feeling, it barely registered.

He dragged himself over to where the match was taking place and took a seat, dumping out a drunken and passed out psi-stalker to make room. "That's pretty impressive, son."

The Juicer looked up from where his fist clenched the cyborgs for a moment. Then he grunted. "Thanks."

"We could use someone like you for a little mission." Dr. James continued.

"How much do you pay?" The boy asked through clenched teeth.

Matthew reckoned that the Juicer was maybe sixteen years old. "Two-thousand credits a month with possible bonuses at the end depending on what kind of salvage we come home with."

A bead of sweat appeared on the Juicers forehead. "How long?"

"It'll depend." Matt replied. "Depends what we find and how quickly. No longer than six months, at any rate."

The Juicer snorted, "You know what kinda money I could make in that time?"

"It's not about the money." Dale said as she slipped into the bench seat beside the boy. She winked at him. "It's about the experience."

A second bead of sweat appeared on the boys face as Dale's thigh rubbed against his. "Well… maybe."

"Ah, come on." Dale pleaded coquettishly. "You're bound to see all sorts of interesting things on an expedition like this." It wasn't likely coincidence that the way she leaned forward when she said that introduced some of her cleavage to the boy's field of view.

"What the heck." The boy conceded, suddenly intrigued by what he might possibly see during the expedition. "I'll sign on." Trying to impress the young lady next to him, he renewed his efforts at defeating his opponent.

The sudden jerk woke Kirk. He glanced at the Juicer trying to pull down his arm. Then he looked over to his new boss, Dr. James. Finally his eyes fell on solicitous Dale. His peripheral vision told him that they were the only ones conscious in the entire room. He decided to let the young Juicer win the match and slowly lowered his hand to the table. In his view, Juicers were little more than glorified squishies with overly inflated egos. Since it seemed that this particular Juicer would be a traveling companion, at least for a short while, it was prudent to just let him win the contest rather than face countless and pointless challenges of manhood.

"Ah ha!" The Juicer exclaimed. "I won! I won!"

"Indeed you did, friend!" Kirk said, being gracious in his staged defeat. "Might I then, have the name of the one that bested me?"

The Juicer shot his hand out to the borg. "Folks call me Chip!"

"And I am Kirk Yager of the New German Republic." He grasped his new friend's hand. "Well met."

"Well met." Chip agreed. Then he turned to Matthew. "So when do we leave?"

"This morning." Matthew replied automatically. Then he looked around again at his crew. "Better make that tomorrow morning."

When everyone was up and about, introductions were made. It was also revealed that Kirk had no vehicle while Chip had a Speedster Hover cycle. Kirk was paired up with Don so that each of the trucks had someone riding shotgun. It was agreed that Chip could ride ahead of the main party as a scout.

The next destination was discussed and a route planned using dated maps. Early in the morning they departed for the capital of the Coalition States, Chi-Town.


	5. Monsters

Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

**Monsters**

_Creatures once believed to be mythology now stalk the wilds of North America. This has warranted new classifications for flora and fauna. The first classification is called 'Native'. This label applies to any creature that existed alongside man prior to the arrival of the Rifts. These creatures are considered 'mortal' and are normally quite vulnerable to injury and have no abilities that can't be explained by traditional science. _

_The two remaining categories possess powers and abilities that aren't always explainable with science. More often than not, they are not easily vulnerable to injury (although they may possess one or two minor weaknesses such as sunlight or silver). The second classification is 'Supernatural'. Any creature of extra-dimensional origin that can be summoned falls into this category. The third classification is 'Creatures of Magic'. This applies to creatures of extra-dimensional origin that can't be summoned. _

_There has been a recent movement to add one or two more categories. For example, the dinosaurs that have become common is the state once known as Florida as well as the North American west don't fit in with any of the previous three categories as they were a long extinct species long before man trod the earth. Other species seem to have arrived to this world after the Cataclysm but are just as mortal and vulnerable as any domestic animal that man has had a long history with. Their abilities don't seem to be paranormal in anyway. Most currently refer to those beings moved through time as being trans-temporal creatures. Other mortal creatures are simply called extra-terrestrial. _

_However you want to classify it, a monster always has big sharp teeth and large gnashy claws. _

_-Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Matthew James_

A lone hover cycle sped through the wilderness of Wisconsin. Whipping between trees at fifty miles per hour would have been suicidal for most people. Chip wasn't most people. His senses and reflexes were augmented well beyond the human norm by the synthetic drugs injected into his system by a special harness he wore.

Chip had only recently undergone the 'Juicer' conversion process. The augmentation was incredibly expensive, costing four-hundred-thousand credits at a clinic in Ishpeming. He had only been able to afford it by selling off everything his family had owned. His parents didn't need their possessions having been killed in a monster attack when the family was traveling through these very wilds.

Only the intervention of a band of Juicers had saved Chip's life. They had been on their way to Ishpeming to find work when they stumbled upon the attack. While a rowdy bunch, the young boy's plight touched their hearts and they saw him safely the rest of the way. They even helped him get fair prices for his family's legacy before leaving him to his own devices.

It was the actions of these men that caused Chip to decide to undergo the Juicer conversion. They were larger than life heroes who strode mighty and unafraid across the face of the earth. He wanted to be like that. A short life seemed a small price to pay in exchange for a chance to make his mark on the world and perhaps even make a difference. Life was fleeting and old age far from a guarantee in this world. His parents had taught him that much. If an engineer and a doctor with promising futures in Upper Michigan could be so senselessly cut down, what was the point of anything? At least as a Juicer, Chip could have a say in his fate. But more importantly, he would have a chance to slaughter some monsters before rejoining his parents.

If his benefactors had known that he would decide to throw his life away so recklessly, they would have left him to the mercies of the monster.

As it was, Chip was enjoying his new life and powers. It had taken about a month for him to adjust to his new abilities and a couple more to convince a mercenary group to take him in. For six months he had trained with the Tennessee Headhunters. That training along with the weapons and gear he needed would take up the last of the small fortune his parents had left him.

Now he found himself working for peanuts with a small band of explorers. It wasn't exactly the life of adventure and glory he had originally envisioned. Still, it wasn't without its rewards. They were all basically good people and the job of exploring the wilderness was a dangerous one. And everyone knew that true riches in the form of pre-cataclysm technology were occasionally discovered by lucky heroes in the wilderness. If that sort of luck was with this group, then he might yet make his fortune.

Of course, the fact that Dale was quite attractive and seemed interested in him didn't hurt much. Sure she was a couple of years older than Chip, but he figured that he must look older with the steroid induced muscles he sported. Besides, he was still closer to her age group than anyone else traveling with them.

"Chip, this is Matthew." The helmet radio chirped in Chip's ear. "You found a way for our trucks yet?"

The group had been following the lake south, hugging the coast as much as possible. It seemed like the safest route. The way had become impassable several miles back so Chip had went ahead to find a better way.

"This brush is pretty thick." Chip responded. "I barely have room to maneuver my bike through it."

"Okay, head back then." Matthew said after a moment. "Ashton says he thinks there's another way around. We'll just have to back track a bit."

Chip gunned the engines of his speedster, taking him above the tree tops. From this new vantage point he spotted a break in the tree line not far away. "Just a sec, Doc. I've spotted something and I'm going to check it out. Might be what we've been looking for."

Sure enough, closer inspection revealed a stream cutting its way through the woods. "Yo Doc, Chip here."

"Go ahead." Dr. James responded.

"I've found a streambed here. It's wide enough for the trucks to go over. I'm following it back to see if there's someplace we can meet up with it."

"Roger that." Dr. James again responded.

"Be careful Chip!" Dale's voice replaced Dr. James in Chip's ear. "Ashton says that water can attract predators."

"All the more reason to get you folks away from the lake." Chip replied, cocksure in his abilities to defend himself from whatever might threaten.

Back at the convoy, Dr. James took the headset back from Dale. "Must you lead him on like that?" He asked of his co-driver.

Dale did her best to look innocent and was as successful as a child with their hand still in a jar of cookies. "I don't know what you're talking about, Doc. I was just expressing concern over another member of our party."

"Uh huh." Matthew James nodded his head, "and you were only trying to get warm, last night when you sat so close to him around the fire?"

"Of course!" Dale agreed readily before feigning shock. "You're not jealous, are you, Doc?"

"Not at all." He shook his head. "Chip is totally not my type."

Dale punched his armored shoulder and then shook her hand in immediate regret. Armor plating was hard! "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"What I know is that I'd rather not see a heart broken and angry juicer running around in close proximity to my person." His tone lacked the usual trace of humor that normally signaled a playful mood to Dale.

"Ah, don't worry Doc." Dale sat back in her seat and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's some harmless flirting and it doesn't mean anything. It's not like we can pay the boy what he's worth, so there has to be something to keep his interest in this mission."

Dr. James sighed. The pragmatic part of him realized that she was telling the truth. And the truth was that they needed him. "Just be careful, Dale."

She laid a hand over his for a moment. "You do care." Her eyes sparkled up at him.

"The route is a good one." Chip's voice barked over the radio, commanding the attention of both the vehicles occupants. "We'll have to blast down a couple of trees that are in the way but there shouldn't be any serious trouble. I've already gone up ten miles or so and the route stays true."

Matthew keyed the mike, "Okay then Chip. Head back now. I don't want you getting too far ahead of us. The rest of you catch that?"

"Roger." Dr. Corwin replied.

"Ditto." Reese added over his radio.

It only took a few minutes for Chip to rejoin the rest of his companions. "Ashton was right, we'll have to backtrack a little bit. Maybe a mile or two and then burn down some trees.

"You'd think that with two tech powers like the Chi-Town and Ishpeming being so close, they'd have a proper road or two between them." Reese complained over the radio.

"There's quite a bit of magical activity to the south of here." Dr. James explained. "We'll actually have to cross several ley lines before we're in Coalition territory. As sources of mystic energy, they attract a whole host of supernatural monstrosities. That makes travel or road construction a difficult business."

"It's hard to believe that this is the safest route to take to the east coast." Dr Corwin added to the conversation.

"We could have gone back the way we came and then go west through Free Quebec territory." Ashton supplied.

"That would mean cutting through two Coalition States instead of just one." Dr. James countered. "Besides, the strip of northern Ontario that exists between those two states is unexplored wilderness. No one really has any idea what to expect there but there's sure to be more than the fair share of monsters. The ley line activity in the Lazlo region alone suggests that much."

"And of course, going through the Windsor-Detroit area is suicide." Reese said before thinking for a moment. "You know, New Crater City isn't in the best of locations, sandwiched between Lazlo and the ruins of Windsor like it is."

"Lazlo is actually something of a benefit as it regulates what goes on with the ley lines and nexus points within its territories. And New Crater City is far enough away from the Windsor ruins that their effect is fairly diluted." Then he sighed. "But we're getting off topic. This route is quicker from where we were. And it gives us a chance to see the capital of the CS itself, Chi-Town."

"You won't likely see more than the Burbs." Dale told Dr. James. "They're very selective who they let in their precious city."

"So I've heard." He nodded in agreement. "I understand that they're not fond of your kind." Then he toggled the radio for a moment to speak to everyone, "Okay Chip, lead the way."

Chip nodded and turned his hover bike about. He cruised ahead of everyone at a sedate twenty miles per hour.

"Yeah, if the CS has one fault, it's that they don't appreciate the power of magic." Dale lamented to Dr. James as they lifted off the ground and began following Chip.

"It sounds as though you'd support them, otherwise." Dr. James said, glancing over at his travel companion.

Dale shrugged. "I know some mages who demonize everything the CS does. So they don't handle the D-Bee invaders to our world with kid gloves? What the hell do we owe them anyway? Half of them are violent misanthropes and the other half are leeches, sponging off resources that rightfully belong to humanity. And those are just the D-Bee's. Don't get me started on the monsters and demons that come through the Rifts with them!"

Dr. James chuckled a bit at Dale's vehemence. She was often so flippant it was rare to see her get passionate about something. "You have some very good points. Humanity was the dominate species on this planet prior to the arrival of any of these beings. It is the natural order for any species to compete against those next to it. The truth of the matter is, that prior to the coming of the Rifts, the only species that humanity had to compete against was itself. Now there are hundreds if not thousands. Competition for resources and territory are simply the natural result of this situation."

For a moment Dale narrowed her eyes at Dr. James' words. "You mentioned before that your job was to learn about all these humanoid cultures… for the tactical advantage, if I recall your words correctly."

"Yes. New Crater City is made up primarily of humans. Of the twenty percent or so of our population that are D-Bee's, they mostly resemble humans and don't challenge our supremacy. They are productive members of our society and contribute to our overall success. Regardless, we feel that this is the exception rather than the rule. All too often we hear of communities completely subjugated by non-humans." Dr. James paused for a moment. "Our intention is to gather information on the species in North America so we can identify threats to our community directly and to humanity at large. In the competition for dominance, we intend that our species will win out."

Dale nodded her head approvingly. "I'm glad we seem to be on the same page on this."

"Don't get me wrong." Dr. James amended. "I don't believe every D-Bee is out to kill me directly. But every D-Bee that has a family that needs resources. Those resources are in demand by my species. Unless that D-Bee is of some overall benefit to my species, then we will, by necessity, be in competition. The losers of these sort of competitions usually face extinction. While I may have no particular grudge against any individual D-Bee, I don't intend to see my species extinguished."

"Wow." Dale said, truly impressed. "You're not at all like the liberal, D-Bee hugging, monster loving academics you usually hear about."

"It is precisely because I am educated that I am able to make an informed decision on the matter." Dr. James replied. "A lot of these so called liberal academics simply haven't studied the situation with cold logic. They allow emotion and sentimentality to cloud their judgment. When studied analytically, the result is inescapable. We are in a direct competition for survival with these beings."

"You know," Dale said thoughtfully, "the Coalition might not be so opposed to education if they had someone like you do the teaching."

"Yet another fault of the CS." Dr. James said with some earnest regret. "They choose to keep their population ignorant and therefore vulnerable to false ideas. Even so, they may represent the best hope humanity has for survival in North America."

Chip's voice on the radio interrupted further conversation. "Hold up folks. Here's the patch of tree's that's the problem."

The three hover trucks glided to a halt and Ashton dismounted to examine the situation. He didn't like the idea of destroying the trees. Not because he had some sentimental attachment to nature but purely because it would make them easier to track. It was only the fact that he didn't figure anyone was following them that he was willing to go along with the plan. If he'd had his way, they would have veered away from the lakeshore some time ago.

"We could burn them down with lasers, sure enough." Ashton commented as he walked around the trees. "But I think one or two fragmentation grenades would do the trick just as well."

"Anyone packing grenades?" Dr. James asked of the assembled party.

A round circle of negative declarations left very little choice in the matter. "Alright. I'll clear the way with my Ion Pistol. It's got a short range so we won't have to worry as much about stray shots." Dr. James put on his helmet and dismounted from the vehicle.

Ashton indicated which trees to shoot and where with a laser pointer. Each shot from the blaster burnt out a massive section in the middle of any tree hit. The tree above the vaporized portion would then fall to earth and be moved out of the way by Kirk and Chip. Nearly a dozen charred stumps now marked their planned path to the stream.

Ordinary wheeled vehicles would have been hard pressed to use the path they created. It would have been impossible to follow the streambed. The hovercraft had no problem floating over the stumps or coasting over the stream. Hover vehicles had been quite common during the golden age of man. Now only a few manufacturers had the technology to make them. They made traversing the North American wilderness much easier than with more conventional transports.

Following the streambed, the convoy was able to achieve a safe speed of forty miles per hour. Chip was again scouting about two miles ahead of the main party, alert to danger and sudden obstacles in their path. Thus he was the first person to spot a plume of smoke rising in the distance.

"Doc, Chip here." He radioed back to the convoy. "There's some activity on up ahead. I'm going to check it out."

"Doc here. Roger that Chip. Don't get too far ahead." Came Dr. James' response.

Immediately, Chip gunned his cycle's engine and sped on ahead at just under two-hundred miles per hour.

Back at the convoy, Ashton was popping open the gunners hatch in the roof of the hover truck he rode along with Dr. Corwin. His binoculars zeroed in on the distant plume of smoke. "Unless I miss my guess, that looks like burning gas or oil." He broadcast over the radio.

"Could be a bandit attack." Kirk responded over the convoy's net.

"Monsters!" Chip's excited voice came back over the radio. "I got two of the ugly things attacking four trucks up here. The lead one got mired trying to cross the stream it looks like. Rear truck was attacked first. Damn! There's only a couple of people left! I'm going to engage."

Dr. James was about to object and then thought better of it. Monsters were a problem for everyone. There was something of an obligation to destroy them when encountered—assuming the power to so. Having a Juicer and a Cyborg available provided him with the confidence that they might just be able to manage the problem. Besides, Chip was already in the thick of it and they'd have to bail him out in any case.

"Alright, we're on our way Chip. Everyone else, have your co-drivers pop up the roof hatches." Dr. James ordered into the radio. Then he turned to Dale. "That means you too."

She nodded before popping the hatch and pulling herself part way out of the vehicle. Dale muttered a protection spell as she did so.

Ashton was already up and was busy mounting his JA-12 rifle to the pintle provided. Kirk was likewise hauling his upper torso through the hatch and mounting his railgun.

What the trucks passengers found when they caught up to Chip were a pair of monsters standing over the last two members of the doomed convoy. Horrendous teeth cut into frail flesh, ending the lives of two humans. Chip was circling in his bike, blasting at the creatures with his sidearm.

The beasts themselves had the bodies of lions, serpentine tails and three heads. One head was of a lion, one of a goat and the middle one of a dragon. Dr. James had seen photo-images of this creature before and also knew it from legends. They were a pair of chimera's. "Be careful, they breathe fire!" He shouted out over the radio in way of warning to the others.

Dale was already casting a spell, binding the creature's legs to the ground. Fortunately, they were standing close enough together for the one spell to catch them both with its eldritch power.

Chip had already seen the chimera's demonstrate their fire breath ability and was keeping well out of reach of it. With the beasts pinned down to one spot, that became much easier to accomplish.

The three hover trucks circled just out of range of the monsters breathe range and stopped. Co-drivers opened fire on the creatures while drivers opened up doors to join in the barrage. Each shot that could down an ancient, thick tree only wounded the monsters supernatural hide.

In short order, the sustained bombardment of laser, ion and railgun fire left the two mythical creatures as nothing more than burning corpses.

"They're dead." Dale announced after scanning the creatures auras psionically.

Chip landed his bike by one of them and went in closer to investigate. He snorted and then kicked the charred remains of one of them. "They're not so tough."

"Tough enough to kill these folks." Dr. Corwin countered as he bent over some of the victims of the chimera assault. There were eight human bodies strewn about, all wearing cheap, second hand armor and armed with low end weapons. Along with the human bodies was the corpse of a smaller chimera that they had managed to kill before being slaughtered.

"Looks to me like a mated pair with their juvenile young one." Ashton declared as he surveyed the scene. "Must have been hunting for easy prey."

"That's one less family of monsters stalking our kind." Chip said with some bitterness before kicking the carcass nearest him once more.

"Alright. Chip, Dale, Ashton and Kirk. I want you four on picket while the rest of us go over this caravan for salvage." Dr. James belted out the orders before approaching the closest fallen body.

The world was a dangerous place. To survive, it had become standard practice to salvage anything of use from the fallen so that the survivors could find a way to keep on living. Precious resources could not be simply left to lie about. Thus rifles were pulled from cold, dead hands and armor stripped off corpses.

"What do you suppose they were doing, way out here?" Reese asked as he went through the vehicles, tallying what could be stripped off as useable parts.

"I saw a bunch of artifacts in the back of one their trucks." Dr. James responded. "Looks like salvage from before the time of the Rifts. Mostly junk and trinkets but of some value to collectors. I figure they found some pre-Rifts ruins, grabbed what they could carry and were headed someplace to sell it all."

"They'd get some pretty decent prices for this stuff in the Burbs." Dale commented as she casually stripped a man of his boots. "If they had gotten the chance, they could have afforded better gear and could have handled those critters by themselves."

"They shouldn't have been out in the wilderness with such second rate crap." Ashton added to the conversation from his high place, never ceasing his vigil for danger.

"Sometimes there's no choice." Dr. James pointed out. "People and communities need the technology that can be found in the ruins. Or else they need the credit to buy such amenities from the sale of artifacts from the ruins. Either way, they take the risk with what little protection they have and hope luck is with them. Sometimes it is. More often, it is not. These poor fools were taking such a gamble and lost."

"Well, we should at least do something with the bodies." Dr. Corwin said, not completely unaffected by the sight of his fellow man brought down by the claws of monsters.

"We could bury them, quickly." Reese suggested.

"And let some damn necromancer turn them into zombies or worse?" Chip objected. "Nothing doing. I say we just laz them and move on."

"That's damn heartless." Reese replied angrily.

"Crass as Chip is, he is also right." Dr. James interjected immediately. "The best option is always cremation. Still, I don't want to waste charges from our weapons on them so we'll have to start a more conventional fire."

"These vehicles are all fuel guzzlers, so it shouldn't be that hard." Reese said, somewhat sulkily.

It took about four hours to strip bodies, transfer cargo and remove good parts from the stranded vehicles. A couple of the vehicles were still operational but there wasn't enough people to spare in Dr. James' opinion. They were spread thin enough in his opinion. So valuable, easy to sell components were pulled from all the vehicles and the rest left regretfully left to rot.

By the time it was all done, there was only a few hours of daylight left. Not wanting to remain overly long at the scene, the group decided to move on about fifty miles before stopping for the night.

--

The next morning, the crew were on their way again. They were in good spirits despite the unfortunate incident the day before. Horror and death were all too common events in the world they lived in. Dwelling on tragedy could lead to depression, suicide or insanity. People buried their dead and then moved on with their lives. There simply was no alternative.

Chip and Ashton had already scouted out the next fifty miles or so of their route during the first hour of sunlight the day offered. The reconnaissance was conducted at high speed and at the cycle's maximum altitude. So there were certain to be things that were missed. That was why Chip was again acting as the groups advance scout, traveling about two miles ahead of the main party.

After several hours of what seemed like a snails pace to Chip, he finally came to the last point that Ashton and he had explored. A ley line cut across the land, intersecting their path forward.

Ley lines were paths of magical power that now bound the planet in their mystic embrace. Most scholars believed they existed prior to the cataclysm albeit at much lower power levels. The Coalition's official history stated that their arrival was what caused the cataclysm. As proof, CS research scholars pointed out that there was no mention of any ley lines in any books or recordings that survived the cataclysm.

Outside scholars argued that the ley lines were much weaker and therefore invisible—unlike the ley lines of the modern era that glowed as blue walls of eldritch power. As proof of their claims, they explained that most worlds have invisible ley lines and some are so weak as to have negligible effect on magic. This argument always invites scorn and the accusation of lies from CS research scholars.

There were several things that everyone agreed upon when it came to ley lines. They were potent sources of power, not only for magic users but also for psychics and many supernatural creatures. As such they often drew creatures of otherworldly origin to them. Magic users were also often drawn to places where the ley lines flowed.

To Chip, they were simply relentless lines of energy that cut through the landscape. The blue lines cut through rocks, trees and even animals as though they weren't even there.

Chip passed through the line and then took a long leisurely loop back towards his companions. From his vantage point, he could see the ley line stretching out for several miles in both directions. "No activity here at the line." He reported back to the convoy.

Already the blue glow was visible to the convoy as they closed in. "Roger that Chip." Dr. James replied over the radio before turning to Dale. "Anything?"

As a magic user, Dale had honed her sensitivity to mystic emanations. She had sensed the ley line long before even Chip had seen it. This same sensitivity allowed her to know if the ley line met up with any others to create a nexus point or if there were any Rifts currently open anywhere along the line. Just a moment's focus told her everything she needed to know to answer Dr. James' question. "Nothing."

"Alright everyone, the way looks clear but stay on your toes." Dr. James toggled into the radio before accelerating slightly into the ley line. The line itself didn't offer any resistance nor direct danger. Magical energy itself didn't hurt anyone; it was the beings that it attracted that caused problems. Still, Dr. James had an unconscious desire to get past this passive obstacle as fast as possible.

Dale felt a quick rush of power as the hover truck passed through the ley line. There was a slight tingling along her skin as the raw power of the line rushed through her. Then they were past the line and speeding away and the feeling quickly passed away.

The Coalition military had taught Ashton to fear and destroy magic whenever it was found. He hadn't killed Dale when they met because that would have been suicide. His superior officers desire to observe this odd anomaly was all in his view that was keeping her alive now. The ley line presented an entirely different problem to Ashton. It was a form of magic that science had yet to find a way to destroy.

Kirk had seen many such ley lines in his homeland. He didn't fear magic as those of the Coalition did although he knew to respect the danger they could represent. Countless battles against the Gargoyle Empire had taught all residents of the New German Republic to destroy the demonic forces attracted to such places.

Despite having passed through the ley line without event, the entire convoy was on edge for the next hour or so. Everyday, ley lines were crossed regularly with no more difficulty than they had just experienced. But when things went wrong at a place of magic, they went horribly wrong.

--

Chip had advanced ahead of the convoy by a good twenty-five miles when he spotted two objects flying fast in the distance. Apparently they had spotted him as well since they changed direction to intercept him.

"We've got two fliers, moving fast." Chip called into his radio.

Twenty-five miles away, three hover trucks pulled into the tree lines and halted their advance. "Roger that." Dr. James acknowledged.

Adjusting the visor on his helmet, Chip was able to zoom in on the approaching objects. As they came into focus, the computer system that monitored Chip's natural adrenaline levels immediately signaled his drug harness to inject synthetic chemicals into his system in anticipation of danger. Two Coalition Sky Cycles were quickly closing in on him. Either one of them could out run and out gun him. Combined, they posed a threat even to the young chemically enhanced warrior.

"They're Coalition Sky-bikes." Chip signaled back to his convoy before slowing down to show a non-aggressive posture.

The Sky Cycles slowed to just above stalling speed and closed to within two-hundred feet of Chip to identify him and to see if their presence provoked a hostile reaction. When he didn't attack, they gunned their engines to pass him on their way back the way he had just come.

"And they're on their way to you." Chip said into his mike as he looked over his shoulder to watch their exhaust trails in the sky. He pulled his bike around and dropped below the tree line. Soon he was speeding back to the main convoy.

The sound of thrusters carried over the convoy. "Do you think they saw us?" Dale asked Dr. James.

"Maybe. We have to assume they did." Dr. James was scowling. Monsters were easy to deal with. You just had to shoot them until they stopped moving. Dealing with the Coalition could be a little more complicated.

"Aren't they an awful long way from Coalition Territory?" Dale queried.

"Part of long term peace and stability requires that a nation maintains the ability to project power beyond its own borders." Dr. James stated matter-of-factly. "This territory isn't claimed by anyone—at least no one that the CS recognizes. So they're being proactive by patrolling it and destroying monsters before they become a problem for their citizens."

"You almost sound as though you admire them." Dale said as she observed his response carefully.

"It's hard to ignore everything they've accomplished or the potential they have." Dr. James replied, aware of Dale's interest. He didn't feel as though he had anything to hide in this matter. "By the way, have you hidden away your power?"

"Yeah." Dale fidgeted. "It makes me feel naked but I guess I better get used to it as we get closer to CS territory. We really don't need the extra attention."

"Indeed." Dr. James agreed. "We may be outside of Coalition territory but I have little doubt that they'd have no qualms about eliminating you if they knew you were a mage." Then he picked up the radio receiver. "Chip, report."

"Those sky bikes have circled back the way they came from." Chip responded over the airwaves. "I've been thinking, boss. There's only two of them. This far away from home, there must be more of them out there."

"Agreed." Dr. James responded. He'd been thinking along those same lines. "They're probably scouts for a larger expedition."

"Do you think we should maybe try to avoid them?" Reese added to the radio conversation.

Dr. James spared a glance at Dale. Mindful that their conversation might be being monitored he replied. "No, we carry on our current route. We have nothing to hide. Still, I want you to stay closer to us the rest of the way, Chip."

"Roger that." Chip agreed readily as his hover cycle pulled into view.

The convoy continued along the stream bed at a cautious rate. After about an hour of travel Dr. James' suspicions were confirmed when a CS ground patrol was spotted advancing along the route his little band was taking.

The distinctive spike arrangement on one of the troopers helmets identified him as a Psi-Stalker—a human mutant sensitive to the emanations of psionic and magical energy. At close range he should have been able to identify Dale as a magic user. Despite having already witnessed her breeze by CS Dog Pack led by its own Psi-Stalker, Dr. James was still apprehensive.

The patrol leader called his troops to a halt. They immediately took up firing positions on the two sides of the stream bed, just within the tree line. Then he held up his hand to halt the approaching convoy. Glancing over his shoulder to the Psi-Stalker assigned to his patrol confirmed that he didn't need to be worried about dangerous magic, psionics or supernatural creatures hidden within the convoy. Towards the back of the patrol, a radio operator was automatically calling back to their command call sign.

Dr. James stopped his vehicle a respectful distance away from the patrol. Then he toggled the button to lower his window. The patrol leader was a sergeant, judging by the arrangement of the trooper's helmet. The CS had a peculiar habit of making their NCO's, officers and special divisions all easy to identify at a distance with distinctive helmet patterns.

"Good day, sir!" Dr. James called cheerily as the patrol commander approached his vehicle. "What can I do for you?"

"Our platoon is on a routine sweep through the area, eliminating threats." The sergeant stated matter of a fact-ly.

"We sure could have used you boys yesterday!" Dr. James guffawed, deliberately trying to seem less refined then normal. "Ran into a pair of chimera's attacking another convoy. We were able to mist the beasts but not before they killed the other party."

"That's too bad." The sergeant said with earnest regret. "We do what we can to quell these monsters but we can't be everywhere at once. And there always seems to be more of those damnable things crawling out of the Rifts anyway."

"It's true, it's true." Dr. James agreed readily enough. "But any way's, there hasn't been much else on our path all day. I guess your patrol has either wiped them out or sent them running with their tails between their legs. It's mightily appreciated."

The sergeant nodded at the Doctor's words. "We do what we can. So was there anything else of interest up the way you came?"

Dr. James rubbed his chin. "Well, there was the ley line, but there was no activity on it today."

"Thank you for your assistance." The sergeant gestured back the way he had come. "You'll find things pretty easy going up ahead for some distance. We've already cleared the area of hostiles."

"Good to hear. Good to hear." Dr. James was quite sincere with his praise. The patrols sweep would make the going easier for his own group, at least for a little while. "You boys take care of yourselves."

The sergeant took a step back away from the hover truck. "You folks, as well." He watched as all three hover trucks and their hover cycle escort lifted off the earth and then began to move back down their route. When they were no longer in sight, he spoke. "Did you catch all that, Sunray?"

Some miles away, a young lieutenant had been listening in on the relayed conversation the whole time. Her platoon had been airlifted into the area partly to conduct routine sweeps of the area but also to make contact with the convoy her advance patrol had just let by them. "Roger that, India-One." There was a slight pause before she added, "Anything from your Popa?"

The question surprised the sergeant. He had only been instructed to make contact. There had been no mention of any potential elements that might provoke his Psi-Stalker. The fact that there had been no response from the mutant human attached to his squad caused him to wonder if maybe he had somehow found the wrong convoy. "Ah, negative, Sunray. Popa gave his all clear on this group."

Lieutenant Knight wrinkled her brow. "Very well, India-One. Proceed to the RV. It's time to pull up stakes." Sighing, she turned to a tech sitting next to her. "Signal HQ. Let them know we'll need air transport to Chi-Town." Without missing a beat she turned to face the armored soldier sitting on her other side. "Get the men to strike camp and call in all our patrols. Then come back and see me. I have a special mission for you when we get to base."

Without a word, the soldier stood up and left out the back of the APC to carry out their orders.

--

Completely unaware that their contact with the Coalition patrol had been by design, Dr. James' convoy continued merrily on their way. They were in good cheer as it seemed as though they had gotten Dale past, right under the nose of a Psi-Stalker. What's more, the CS sweep ahead of them would most likely have cleared anything dangerous out of their way.

Only some of that enthusiasm bled away when Chip called back that he had spotted the soft blue glow of a ley line up ahead. A little more dissipated when a moment later he announced that he could see a trail of black smoke off to the right along the line.

"Check it out, Chip." Dr. James instructed. "It's probably a battle site from an encounter that CS patrol had with hostiles."

"Roger that." Chip agreed before he sped away to investigate. As he got closer, he could make out more of what was going on. "Hey there boss man. You might want to circle the wagons. Turns out that there's more than one plume of smoke up here."

"Must have been some fight." Dr. James agreed over the radio. "Okay folks, lets hold up here and wait to see what Chip has to report."

The three hover trucks pulled into a relatively clear area off to the side of the stream and formed a rough triangle, with the co-drivers side on each truck facing outwards. The co-drivers themselves were up the hatches, wary for signs of danger.

"My God!" Chip's anxious voice yelled into the radio. "They slaughtered them! They slaughtered them all like animals! Even the children! Doc! Those Coalition bastards even killed the kids!"

"Calm down, Chip." Dr. James replied in a firm voice over the radio. The drugs that were constantly being injected into a Juicers system made them somewhat unpredictable, emotionally speaking. While Chip has shrugged off the deaths of a random caravan, something else had oddly set him off. "What are you seeing?"

Chip forced himself to relax. Drugs were released into his system to calm him down. "There's a village here." Then he paused. "Or rather there was. They wiped it clean off the map. There must be nearly a hundred huts here and they're all burning."

"Chip, what were they?" Dr. James asked his scout coolly.

"D-Bee's of some sort." Chip replied. He had landed his bike and was examining the humanoid bodies that were strewn about. "Blue skinned with black hair and weird bug like black eyes. Not anything I've ever seen before."

"I see." Dr. James paused for a moment. "Is there anything dangerous there?"

"Naw, Doc." Chip replied despondently. "There ain't nothing here at all."

"Okay, Chip." Dr. James voice was comforting. "We're on our way to check things out."

Turbines wound up, pushing the trucks off the ground and propelling them forwards. Inside, their drivers and passengers were silent as they contemplated Chip's words and imagined the scene that awaited them.

Soon enough the ley line came into view, followed in short order by the plumes of smoke rising to the sky, each one a transient memorial to what had occurred at this site recently. Just as Chip had described, there were about a hundred mud-brick huts. All of them had been blasted with energy weapons. A few showed rail gun impacts. Dr. James recognized most the blast marks as being from lasers although there was some plasma damage as well.

Scattered among the huts were the bodies of the bluish humanoids Chip had described over the radio. Most of the bodies out in the open appeared to have either been adult males attempting to defend the village or a mix of elderly, women and children trying to flee the area. All had been cut down with laser fire.

The members of the convoy dismounted from their vehicles with only Kirk remaining up his hatch, rail gun at the ready.

Chip came out of the ruins of a hut he had been exploring. Carried in his arms was the limp body of a baby D-Bee. "Look at this Doc!" Tears streaked down Chip's face as he presented the corpse to the mission leader. "Just a baby. Just an innocent little baby who'd never hurt anyone!"

Dr. James' voice was soft and his tone conciliatory. "I understand what you're thinking, Chip. Really I do. But you have to understand that things often aren't what they appear at first glance. We need to look into this and see what really happened."

"What's to know?!" Chip demanded. "Everyone knows the Coalition hates D-Bee's. We saw them bastards, coming from this direction. We heard them braggin' bout how they had already cleared all 'hostiles' in the area." Chip looked down at the lifeless babe in his arms again. "How was this baby an enemy of humanity?"

"Look Chip." Dr. James said, gripping the Juicers shoulders firmly. "We need to investigate this and see what happened. There's a whole lot of experts here and it's what we're good at. While we're looking for the truth, we need you to do what you're good at and protect us. If we don't check this out, no one will ever know what really happened here. But I need you to watch our backs while we work. Can you do that for us?"

Slowly, Chips breathing became regular again. He knew the Doc was right. It was time for the brains of the operation do their thing. And it was time for him to do his thing. "Okay Doc." He glanced down at the still infant. "Can I at least bury this one?"

"Sure Chip." Dr. James nodded. "Kirk can handle things while you take care of that." Then he brushed a lock of black hair away from the child's forehead. "I think its parents would appreciate the gesture."

Chip nodded and then turned and walked off, away from the ley line to bury the body.

"He's sure taking this hard." Dale commented, a little pale at the scene herself.

"Can't really blame him." Dr. Corwin said, joining Dr. James and Dale. "This is a pretty gruesome sight. One has to wonder what these creatures did to provoke the CS forces."

"We don't know for sure it was the CS." Ashton pointed out as he also joined the group. He helmet was on and his JA-12 was at the ready position. While he spoke, his eyes continually swept and then re-swept the scene.

"Ashton is right. So far all we have is circumstantial evidence that it was the CS. It could as easily have been well equipped bandits." Dr. James knelt down by one of the bodies. "Don, you see these blast marks?"

Dr. Corwin knelt down on the opposite side of the stricken D-Bee. "Yes… definitely military grade lasers." He pulled aside the shreds of a burnt shirt. "Looks like five shots to the center of mass. The shooter definitely knew what they were doing." He examined the injuries more closely. "Any one of these blasts would have cut a human in two. Whatever these creatures were, they were tough."

"I think they may have been magic users." Dale added. She had wandered off to examine some blast marks that didn't have any body left in evidence. There was an outline of an armored soldier in the middle of the electrical burn. Evidently, the casualty had been dragged away after the fact. "I think I know the spell that could do this."

"That just means there was one, or maybe more magic users among them." Dr. James pointed out. "Keep looking for more evidence." He turned to look over his shoulder at Ashton. "Mr. Walker, could you start sweeping through the area and see what you turn up?"

With a silent nod, Ashton slung his weapon and began moving about the ruins deliberately. He paused occasionally to examine points in the ground, a broken bit of flora or rail gun impacts against a still standing mud hut.

Dr. Corwin began examining bodies, whispering notes into his digital recorder as he went. Occasionally he would supplement those notes with pictures of the deceased or the wounds that killed them. One or two he cut open to make a quick examination of internal organs and their arrangements before moving on.

Reese found himself with very little to do. He did sweep through the village looking for signs of technology. Most of what little had been present had been destroyed along with the rest of the vehicle. There were a handful of vehicles such as tractors and small cargo haulers. He reckoned that they were likely community property. In any case, they had been taken out with missiles. It might have been the first sign the village had that they were under attack. Everything he found was of earthly origin, most likely produced somewhere in the North American mid-west.

Chip returned from his chore to stand at a lonely vigil at one end of the village. Dale paused by him long enough to pat his shoulder comfortingly before moving on to see what else she could find.

Dr. James investigated the ruins directly. The homes that once provided these people with shelter told him a colorful story of how they had once lived. Theirs had been a matriarchal society with a council of elderly women running the village. They had been holed up in the largest and sturdiest of the buildings. Around them were the bodies of about half a dozen male guards who had been armed with Northern Gun weapons and armor. The only ones so equipped for the whole village.

Another thing that he noticed and Dr. Corwin confirmed was that there were approximately three females to every male. Dr. James doubted that they were monogamous and suspected that children were raised by the whole village rather than in smaller family units. It seemed that it was a species adapted to the concept of a few males breeding with a larger number of females. Thus the males were relatively expendable and could be utilized in such roles as defense.

Numerous arcane symbols combined with a plethora of fetishes suggested a culture that was highly reliant on shamanistic magic. Several of the fetishes included what appeared to be lion parts while others were from goats and there were some small dragon scales. Collectively they suggested that this culture had a connection to chimeras.

One by one, everyone drifted back to the center of town where the trucks were parked.

"So what did everyone turn up?" Dr. James asked of his team.

"They didn't bring any technology from their homeworld." Reese started out. "Except for some sort of resin they use in the creation process of the bricks that make their huts. I can see why they kept that. Those huts were able to absorb numerous rail gun hits. Otherwise, everything I found was local. Mostly Northern Gun stuff."

"It was hard to isolate individual signs of magic." Dale said as she began adding her expertise to what Reese had reported. "For the most part, everything is drowned out in the background of the ley line. It's possible that was one of the reasons for siting the village here, the ley line works as a mystic camouflage. Not to mention it would help fuel their magic. I found lots of things to indicate that a high number of the villagers were practitioners. It may be possible that they all had inherent levels of magic to some degree or another. From what I could see, the magic was based on shamanistic or nature magic although I saw signs of elementalism as well."

Dr. James nodded to what Dale was saying. He'd seen signs of such mystic activities himself.

"Inherent magical abilities would explain a few things." Dr. Corwin commented as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Their hides are able to absorb far more damage than a mortal human. I suspect that they were minor magical creatures in their own right. No grand powers but enough to provide them with a slight survival edge. They were definitely omnivores, much like humans. They have a more robust digestive system than a human one, suggesting that they had a much wider diet range than ourselves. These beings would make capable scavengers. Finally, I suspect that they were nocturnal or at least able to operate in the darkness."

"It was definitely Coalition forces that destroyed this village." Ashton said without emotion. "But not the group we ran into. This village was destroyed several days ago by a mechanized platoon sweeping along the length of the ley line. They continued on down the line when they were done here. The group we ran into were on a route that bisected this line. Furthermore, there was a small scale battle that occurred prior to the destruction of this village. From what I could gather, combatants from this village ambushed an advanced element of the CS patrol."

"Hmmm." Dr, James pulled his hat off the top of his head and stared into as though some secret wisdom were held within. "Two Coalition platoons operating in close proximity. That could mean there is a company or higher level operation going on in the area. We best be on our toes then, since it's possible we haven't seen the last of them."

"So what's the verdict, boss?" Reese asked, fidgeting a bit. The place made him uneasy. It wasn't just the bodies lying around. It wasn't just the ley line, casting a blue hue over everything. It was the stories he'd heard about the dead spontaneously rising as zombies in close proximity to ley lines.

Dr. James replaced the hat on his head. "Well, for starters I'd say this village had something to do with the chimera's we ran into yesterday. Perhaps the village summoned them or was merely leaving food out for the creatures but either way I suspect that they are definitely connected. I saw many signs to suggest that the people here revered the creatures for some reason. Furthermore, it seems that they brought the ire of the CS on themselves by bushwhacking one of their patrols. While on one hand, they may have seen it as an invasion of their territory it seems to me that if they had Northern Gun gear, they must have known enough about their environment to realize that attacking the CS is never a good idea. One way or another, this village was doomed whether it was at the claws of the monsters they attracted to the area or at the hands of a Coalition purge. They were courting their own destruction, and it came. It just so happened that it was the CS that implemented it."

Chip hadn't had anything to add to the discussion until this point. But what the Doc was saying couldn't be left unanswered. "Are you saying this is their own fault?"

"Not exactly." Dr. James corrected. "Merely that it was inevitable. Their culture was incompatible to survival in this world, at this time. As regrettable as their passing is—and understand this, Chip, that I do regret having to study these people as an example of a failed society—it was only part of the natural order. The world is an unforgiving one. All sorts of creatures are struggling to survive, mankind among them. Only those that adapt and prove strong will come out on top."

"No… I mean, I understand about the strong surviving, trust me on that score, Doc. But I mean, the Coalition didn't _have_ to destroy them. These people weren't demons or monsters. Surely a way could have been found to co-exist." Chip shook his head, not wanting to accept the idea that this had to happen.

Dr. James sighed sadly. Looking around, he found a wall that was blasted down to the right height so he sat down heavily on it. Everyone gathered around the scholar while he collected his thoughts. "These people could never co-exist with humanity on this world. At least not the way you were probably envisioning. Let's assume for a moment that ideal circumstances existed. There are plenty of resources for all, which currently isn't the case by any stretch of the imagination. Let us also assume that the philosophies of these people and ours are completely compatible. It's possible after all. So in a village like this one, you have a human family living next door to a family of these beings. Are you with me so far?"

Almost reluctantly, Chip nodded his head affirmatively.

"Okay, good." The doctor's tone suggested that perhaps it wasn't such a positive thing. "Now imagine that a little boy from each family is playing together. For the most part, they're friends and get along. They play together all the time. On this day though the little blue skinned boy has a new shiny toy that the human boy would like to play with. The blue skinned boy normally shares his toys cheerfully but this one is too new. He's not ready to share it with his friend just yet. But the human boy wants to play with it now and so he pushes his friend. Or any other number of other scenarios that lead to boyhood scuffles. The reason doesn't matter. What matters is that the human boy can't possibly hurt the blue skinned boy. The blue skinned boy can hurt the human child however. And despite being friends, he will. Add to his super toughness and the innate magical abilities of his species, an innocent scuffle between friends and an act of self-defense can easily become a murder."

Dr. James looked up to the sky. "And that's just the children. Adults are only slightly less prone to fight amongst themselves as children are. So how do we even the scale? Do we wander around our own homes in armor? Do we enforce segregation with a 'D-Bee' quarter within our communities? Do we eject them from our society all together? Or do integrate fully and tell the little human child's parents that the death of their baby is the price that must be paid for coexistence. We all love our children, Chip. The color of the skin doesn't matter."

Chip's shoulders slumped. The Doc's words made sense even if they didn't feel right. "It's not their fault." He looked down at his leader. "They didn't deserve this, Doc."

"No, Chip. They didn't." Dr James stood up and put a hand on the young warriors shoulder. "And that's what makes it all the more tragic. They were most likely whisked here against there will to a world that is just as alien to them as they are to us. Through no fault of their own they were placed in the way of a large, merciless empire that saw them as a threat. Who knows? If they had settled much further west or closer to someplace like Lazlo, they may have made a go of it. They may have had a chance. It's horrible and it's undeserved but that doesn't change anything."

"But a whole species was wiped out here!" Chip wailed in protest, shrugging of Dr. James' hand.

"No Chip, we don't know that." Dr. James corrected. "A village was wiped out. They may or may not represent all of their kind on this world. But this act, as horrible as it is, is not genocide. Their species no doubt continues to prosper quite nicely on whatever world they came from. And they will never be threatened by the likes of the Coalition. They will never have to face this cruel fate."

That gave Chip some pause. He glanced around the village as though seeing it in a new light. How many human villages, towns and cities had been lost in the struggle for survival? The difference here was that in the struggle for survival between D-Bee's and humanity was that if a D-Bee species was pushed out of existence on Earth, their species as a whole continued to exist. If humanity lost the race for survival, that would be it for the whole species. Yes, it was tragic that this village had been destroyed but it was no worse than what had happened to countless human communities. Or to his parents. "So you're saying that somewhere, out in the larger megaverse, people like these are living their lives just like normal?"

"Sure." Dr. James nodded. "They just couldn't survive here is all. But their species lives on."

"Alright, Doc. I guess you got a point." Chip looked around the village. "Can we get moving? This place is starting to creep me out."

"Sure, Chip." Dr. James agreed. "But first we should burn these bodies."

Everyone nodded silently and then went about the grim task of gathering the dead to the center of town for an impromptu mass cremation.

A short while later, the convoy was once more on its way, looking for a good place to set up camp for the evening.

In their truck, Dale was watching Dr. James quietly.

"What?" He finally asked her, getting uncomfortable with her gaze.

"I'm just trying to figure you out." She said without relaxing her scrutiny. "On one hand you seem sympathetic to those creatures. And yet you don't seem terribly upset at their passing."

"Everything I said is true, Dale." Dr. James said, shifting a bit to get more comfortable as he drove. "The human race is struggling to survive. We face extinction on our own homeworld. Those other beings came from somewhere else. While those that arrive here risk elimination, their race isn't facing extinction. It's nothing personal at all. It's possible that many of those D-Bee's were intelligent and likeable people. But at the end of the day, I have to side with my own species."

"So if I understand you right, you have nothing against individual D-Bee's or even D-Bee's in general. Heck, you might even befriend and work with individual D-Bee's. But you wouldn't be upset if they were all sent back through the Rifts they came from." Dale was beginning to feel that she understood her companion a little better.

"Ideally, if I had the power to make it so, I would simply send all those D-Bee's and alien creatures back where they came from without harm." He shrugged. "The pragmatic part of me realizes this won't ever happen so we have to make the best of the situation. Some D-Bee's we can work with, I think, to our mutual benefit. Many more it seems, are at cross purposes to us."

"I don't think the Coalition would approve of your attitude. Far too accommodating to the enemy." Dale observed.

"They wouldn't approve of your attitudes regarding magic, either." Dr. James countered. "That doesn't mean we need to tell them about either."

Dale smiled widely. "Agreed."

With that, the two of them fell back into a more comfortable silence.


	6. Civilization

Chapter Six

Civilization

_The Coalition States represent humanities best chance for survival in North America. They have the largest and most pure (100%!) human society. Their technology is the most advanced produced in North America. It is their economy and currency that dominate the region. Their military machine is feared by all. They are THE recognized superpower on the continent._

_Millions flock to their fortress cities in the hopes of sharing in their prosperity and security._

_The elite of the Chi-Town will tell you without blush that they are the continuation of the American way of life. _

_I wonder if their style of fascism was what Benjamin Franklin (one of the founding fathers of the American way of life) was thinking of when he said, "Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power**.**"_

_I am reminded of another quote attributed (perhaps mistakenly) to the man. "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote."_

_While the Coalition States is no democracy (it once wa,s, it is certainly made up of wolves._

_Baaa!_

_-Excerpt from the Journal of Dr. Matthew James_

There were no markers to tell the small convoy that they had finally arrived in the Coalition State of Chi-Town. There were no established roadways where they crossed the border. It would be some time before they started encountering CS towns and cities. It was a flight of Coalition SAMAS power armor overhead that drove home the point that they were now in the CS.

The patrol slowed down only long enough to report the composition of the convoy before moving on in their patrol route.

"Time to bottle up your powers, Dale," Dr. Knight said to his co-driver. "At least until they're absolutely needed. The next patrol we run into could have psychic assets."

"Waaay ahead of you!" Dale replied enthusiastically. "I've kept them locked away since yesterday. The last thing I want is a full on battle with the CS military. In the heart of the CS, no less."

The three hover trucks had closed the distance to Chip's hover cycle. They were on an ancient trail that saw little use these days. It allowed the vehicles to move along at an increased pace. Knowing that they were all now in territory controlled by the CS allowed everyone to breathe a little easier. The juggernaut that was the CS military was fairly proficient at keeping CS lands free of monsters and bandits alike. Assuming you weren't considered 'undesirable' by the CS, then there was no safer place to be.

Which isn't to say there wasn't danger. It was simply that the risk had been mitigated by a large margin, just for being within CS territory.

As Dale had consistently gotten by CS Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers, Dr. James was fairly confident in her ability to remain hidden—so long as nothing prompted her to call upon her arcane might. Still, he had other reasons that he wanted to avoid inspection by Coalition authorities. At least until after they got to the Chi-Town 'burbs.

A day before the group crossed into Coalition territory, they had come across the aftermath of a battle. Two independent groups consisting of either bandits, mercenaries or freelance adventurers had all but wiped each other out. There were a few survivors from one side who were perhaps a little too trigger-happy when Chip rolled in on his hover cycle.

The three headhunters opened fire on the juicer, probably in the hopes that he was alone and not looking for a fight. They had proven wrong on both accounts.

Chip was still frustrated over finding the ruined D-Bee village from a few days ago and these headhunters presented a chance to vent. Once Chip was engaged, he called the others up to help him finish off the battle. It was pretty much a one sided affair after that.

While Dr. James would have preferred not getting into an unnecessary firefight, he couldn't fault Chip for defending himself.

In the aftermath of the battle it was pretty hard to determine the motives or origins of either side of the original conflict. What wasn't hard to discern was the cause of the conflict. Both sides were well equipped but one side had captured CS gear. They were also flush with plunder from an excursion into the wilderness.

This was really where Dr. James' expertise came into play. It was up to him to evaluate this 'treasure'. There were a couple dozen soda-pop cans of various brands, mostly un-dented. A few of them were still unopened. There was also a box of yellow, crème fill cakes that were packaged by pairs inside clear plastic wrappings. They showed no signs of mold or rot but anyone hoping for a tasty treat would have been ill advised to try these snacks.

Along with the alleged food products, were several items of clothing. All were from the latter half of the 21st century and were made of material that could stand the test of time. Among them were a simulated leather jacket, a sports cap, several pairs of slacks and a couple of shirts. All of them showed signs of heavy use prior to being consigned to whatever location that had preserved them to the present.

Laser discs of several sorts, still in their original cases, were also present. Some contained music while others had movies or other filmed 'shows.' A couple seemed to be technical data discs. The last half dozen or so were software programs.

What really caught Dr. James' eye were the books. There were nearly a dozen of them. Nearly all of them were printed on a paper like plastic that would last virtually forever. One though, was brown with age and bound in a hard cover. Dr. James ran his fingers over it gently, showing great reverence.

It was a novel, and not one he was familiar with. The title was "Atlanta Nights" by "Travis, Tea." Inside the cover indicated that this was a 13th edition published in 2089. Dr. James wasn't so concerned with the contents however. The yellowed paper pages wafted up their dusty aroma and he found it intoxicating. Here was a piece of history in his hands.

Truly, some people's garbage is other people's treasure.

The books and discs, Dr. James immediately earmarked to be turned over at New Crater City. The rest of the plunder along with salvage from both of the battling parties could be sold when they got to the Chi-Town burbs. However, just possessing any of this material could land the group in serious trouble with the CS authorities. The captured CS gear could get them shot on sight by the military if it was found in their possession. The pre-cataclysm artifacts would be confiscated and the holders issued a stern warning at a minimum. A severe beating was more likely and field executions weren't unheard of.

Thus all of this valuable plunder had to be hidden away in the secret compartment of Dr. James' hover truck. When Reese realized that all of the group's contraband and a mage were all in the same truck, he started calling it the outlaw-mobile. Dr. James stopped him short of actually stenciling it onto the bumper.

Dale was thoughtful as she considered these events. "Hey Doc, where do ya suppose the CS stuff came from?"

He paused while he considered her question. "I see several possibilities. They could have been purchased on the Black Market back in the Chi-Town 'Burbs. The group may have been black market themselves. The group may have killed some Coalition soldiers for them. Or finally, the group may have been Coalition acting under cover. It doesn't really matter. It comes back to the fact that it's Coalition gear and we're in big trouble if we're caught with it."

"That's very true," Dale agreed. "But one of those options you listed also involves the Black Market. They'll want their stuff back, if it's theirs. And they probably won't take kindly to us trying to sell it back to them."

"You raise a good point," Dr. James agreed. "However, the 'Black Market' isn't a single entity. Purchasing something on the Black Market just means that it was purchased illegally. What people refer to when they talk about 'the' black market is actually a collection of gangs, syndicates and occasionally freelancers who may or may not have any direct ties to each other. If all the crime in North America were handled by a single entity, then there wouldn't be crime because the people running this organization would be powerful enough to run the continent. One of the things keeping these crime lords from taking over is the fact that they are in competition with each other."

"Okay, so you got a point," Dale said as she looked out her window at the terrain as it flashed by. "But what if we happen to sell it to the syndicate or gang that it originally belonged to?"

"Well first you're assuming that it belonged to a component of the Black Market." Dr. James point out. "But even if it is, the odds are still far more likely that we'll be dealing with a different or rival group. And even if it were the same group, they would have to be able to identify the weapons as the ones they had. Reese has already checked and the file numbers have all been filed off already." He drove along in silence for a bit, "but if you really want to stack the odds in our favor, we can try to ensure that we deal with some freelancers directly."

"I think I can hook you up with somebody," Dale said as she turned back to face Dr. James. "A guy I used to date. He was in a gang last I saw him. Relatively small potatoes but they could probably afford our goods. And they generally have a no questions policy."

"Sure, sounds good," Dr. James nodded. "We'll use your contact then."

Eventually they started noticing other traffic on the trail they were using. Mostly wheeled, all terrain vehicles at first along with the occasional hover vehicle. A fair number of the vehicles were part of the local lumber industry. Some were probably fellow adventurers and explorers.

As luck would have it, the group caught up with a sizable merchant caravan after dinner and around the time they were looking for a place to set up camp. There were a number of other travelers gathered around the fringes of the caravan's camp. Some were hangers on that paid to be allowed to travel with the caravan for the protection it provided. Others were simply setting up camp in close proximity, partly for security and party to browse the caravan's wares.

"Gee Boss," Reese said over the com-line, "It sure would be nice not to have to set up a guard shift tonight."

"You read my mind, Reese," Dr. James replied, smiling into the handset. "I think we can afford whatever their fee is to camp within their perimeter for the night."

"Especially if we can dump some of our swag on them," Donald interjected.

"Not so fast," Dr. James replied. "These guys will only pay us wholesale prices. And we're not going to be able to sell openly around here, they won't appreciate the competition. We're better off to wait until we can sell it directly to a user, not to a middleman."

Right about then, Dr. James's truck was pulling up to a makeshift checkpoint established by the mercenaries protecting the merchants. One of the tougher looking mercenaries with obvious bionic enhancements approached the door of Dr. James's vehicle.

"Passing through or staying the night?" he asked in a matter of a fact manner.

"We were hoping to grab a patch of grass inside your perimeter," Dr. James said with an honest grin.

"Sure. It's one hundred credits per person plus one hundred credits per vehicle." The mercenary nodded in the direction of a few pavilion tents that had been set up. "If you spend more than one thousand credits each there, your parking costs will be reimbursed."

"Sounds more than fair," Dr. James agreed as he held up his credit card. "I'm paying for the two hover trucks and the hover bike behind me. Seven people in our party total."

"That'll be eleven hundred credits then, please." The Mercenary took the card and swiped it before handing the scanner over to Dr. James to punch in his pin code. When the credits were transferred, he handed Dr. James the receipts so that he could be reimbursed if any purchases were made. "Make sure you display these pass cards on your vehicles." The mercenary added as four plastic cards were passed over with the receipts.

With the transaction complete, the group found a patch of grass large enough for their four vehicles in the taped off area nearby. Dr. James handed out the pass cards and receipts to the drivers while addressing the group. "If you spend a thousand credits or more, you'll be reimbursed for the cost of staying here. Make use of the facilities and enjoy yourselves. Try to be back by midnight as we'll be setting out tomorrow morning at around 0730hrs."

After affixing the pass cards to their vehicles, the party quickly dispersed to see what the traveling caravan had to offer.

Dale immediately went off to make use of the portable showers and toilets. They were set up trailers that 'unfolded' into shower units. They had hot and cold running water, sinks, toilets, and showers. These were true luxuries in the wilderness, especially after traveling for a week with a bunch of men.

Reese wanted to go see what parts and components were available and Kirk went along with him to keep him company. The young engineer was on the lookout for the components he'd need to restore some of their salvage to a more valuable, salable condition.

Ashton had some skins, furs and excess meat he had managed to hunt during stops the group had made and by taking shots of opportunity on the road. He went to find a dealer he could sell them to. The prices he was able to negotiate were decent but hardly stellar. As Dr. James had said, he was selling wholesale.

Chip went along with Donald to purchase medical supplies. They also wanted to see of maybe some replacement drugs could be secured for Chip's harness. Chip had a two-month supply of the drugs with him but he felt more comfortable with a six-month supply available. Dr. James had agreed that if reasonable prices could be found, then the cost could be deducted from the party's expense account.

As for Dr. James, he was looking for relatively mundane supplies for the group. From what he could tell of the wares on display, he figured that the caravan didn't deal with anything that the CS would consider contraband. At least not openly—and certainly not for cheap while in CS territory.

Still, they had a great deal of merchandise purchased in CS cities. Things that were comparatively common in the cities such as clothes, toys, tools and entertainment products would be valuable commodities outside Coalition borders. This particular caravan didn't deal in weapons or military hardware although it had stockpiles available to its defending mercenaries.

After buying some supplies, he met up with Donald and Chip.

"Well, they don't sell juicer drugs," Donald told the team leader. "But they do sell a number of drugs and chemicals that I can use to synthesize what Chip needs. It's going to be pricey. Enough that we should be able to redeem all our receipts."

Chip was looking sheepish at the cost of his 'medical' bill.

"How much are we talking about, exactly?" Dr. James asked while eyeing Chip as though to determine the boy's actual value.

"Twelve thousand, five-hundred credits," Donald supplied without hesitation. "The price isn't too bad. I don't think I should synthesize the drugs until we leave CS territory. Just to be on the safe side."

Dr. James nodded. "Indeed." He handed the expense account card over to Donald, "Get everyone's receipts too."

Chip let out a sigh of relief as Donald and he headed back to the pharmaceutical section of the pavilion.

"What's the matter, kid?" Donald asked of his companion.

"I was worried he might not pay the cost," Chip replied sheepishly.

"We promised you reasonable expenses, didn't we?" Donald asked with a smile. "Fact is, even with this cost, we're still not paying you anywhere near what you're worth."

"Well..." Chip started hesitantly, "the way the Doc was looking at me, I was starting to worry."

"You're not scared of him, are you?" Donald was actually surprised by Chip's seeming hesitation.

"I ain't scared of nuthin'!" Chip insisted, somewhat aggravated. He quickly calmed down. "I was raised in the Chi-Town 'Burbs though. We were taught not to trust someone with too much book learning."

"You know, I'm at least as educated as the 'Doc' is. Maybe more so. So is Reese," Donald informed Chip, somewhat amused.

"Yeah sure, but it's useful learning. You're a doctor and you fix people. Reese fixes machines," Chip objected. "But Doc? His head is filled with all sorts of strange ideas. And ideas just on their own aren't useful to anyone. And some ideas can be dangerous. Like the idea that humans and D-Bee's can be equal."

"Ah," Donald said, still somewhat amused. "I wouldn't worry about Doc. It's not his job to get ideas of his own. His job is to find out what ideas other people have and to learn if they're dangerous or not."

"Okay, sure," Chip conceded somewhat grudgingly. "But what if one those alien ideas gets lodged in his head the wrong way? What if he starts believing these other ideas or liking them better than proper ideas?"

Donald frowned, his brow coming together. He didn't actually believe in what Chip was talking about but recognized it as part of the indoctrination the kid had received growing up. It took him a few moments to put his words together in a way that Chip might accept and understand. "Someone needs to know what our enemies are thinking and how they think, Chip. It may be a risk, as you say, but I trust Doc's judgment about what's real and what isn't. I trust him not to become corrupt."

"Seems like an awful lot of trust to put into a man," Chip replied, still somewhat sullen.

"Sure, I guess," Donald shrugged. "But we all have to trust each other. All of you trust me to keep you healthy. We all trust Reese to fix our stuff. We all trust Ashton to hunt good food for us. We all trust Dale for her mystical expertise. And of course, we all trust Kirk and you to protect us. We all need each other and we all must trust each other if we're going to succeed. Hell, if we're even going to survive."

Chip slowly digested Donald's words. "I guess you're right."

"Indeed, so..." Donald paused when he spotted something. "Oh look, there's Reese and Kirk. We should get their receipts."

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Reese was carefully pushing along an old grocery cart overloaded with various parts, tools and techno gear.

Walking beside him, Kirk was likewise bearing just as much gear as he could manage without dropping it all.

"The salesman certainly saw you coming," Donald said with a laugh. "But where'd you get the credits to buy all that?"

"I have my own budget card to pay for parts and maintenance," Reese replied with a toothy grin.

Donald made an 'ah' noise before asking, "I suppose that you've already redeemed your receipts then?"

"Yup, and Dale's, too," Reese confirmed. "We ran into her when she was coming back from the showers."

"A shower," Donald said with a sniff. "What an excellent idea. I think I'll head over after we're done our purchases."

Reese nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking of doing pretty much the same thing after dropping off all this hardware. Come on Kirk, let's drop this junk off."

When the field engineer and cyborg arrived back at their vehicles, they found Dale and Ashton already there.

"And what does Buffalo taste like?" Dale was asking the hunting expert.

"I like it a lot better than beef." Ashton answered as he set up a grill. "I've never hunted the animal myself, but I've had it before. That's why I picked up these steaks for everyone to try."

"I can hardly wait!" Dale exclaimed before looking up to see Reese and Kirk approach. "Hey boys! Find anything interesting?"

"A few odds and sods that should come in handy if we have a break down," Reese confirmed.

"Ashton bought us some buffalo steaks to try out." Dale turned back to watch Ashton start getting their meal ready. "I want that one!"

"Okay, whatever the lady wants." Ashton chuckled as he started to apply seasoning to the meat.

By the time Reese and Kirk had stowed all the new parts they'd acquired, everyone else had returned from their various shopping sprees and Ashton was finally placing the meat on the grill.

Everyone was in good spirits as they sat in a circle to chat and laugh. It was really the first time since they had left Upper Michigan that any of them had really felt relaxed and safe. Security was a precious commodity to be savored, much like the tender steaks sizzling on the grill.

Shortly after the food was served, a flask of whiskey started circulating amongst the party. Reese switched on one of the truck's stereos and played some tunes for everybody.

Nor were they the only ones unwinding that evening. Numerous small bands of travelers were enjoying the caravan's protection. One lone traveler sat by herself, warmed by a small fire, not far away from the group Dr. James had gathered together. As their good natured chatter drifted through the night air and into her cybernetically enhanced ears, she smiled to herself. They seemed like decent folk.

-----

The group was woken the next morning by the sounds of the caravan crews striking camp. Those who were travelling with the merchants were doing likewise. Some others who had merely stopped for the night were lingering a bit. The party led by Dr. James was among them.

Since the group had resupplied at the caravan, it seemed likely that they could head straight for Chi-Town without any stops at outlying cities and towns. The Coalition State of Chi-Town had many population centers within its border. Chi-Town was the capital and was further renown for being one of the fortress cities of the Coalition. Not to mention being the capital of the CS.

Most of these cities had populations in the tens of thousands although a dozen or so had populations as high as two-hundred-thousand. All located in what was once the American state of Illinois. By post-cataclysm standards, this was a very densely populated area.

Other signs of civilization were apparent as well. Farmland was quite common as were CS Sky cycle patrols. It wasn't entirely unheard of to come across a military base or outpost. What really marked the area as civilized was the presence of roads, especially around Chi-Town and the larger cities. Roads were essential for trade and security. Less visible evidence of civilization was the power and communication lines that ran beneath the earth between the communities of Chi-Town. All these things were once quite common the world over but now only existed in places where mankind had beat back the chaotic hordes and reclaimed a piece of their former glory.

"There's a road near here that will take us straight to Chi-Town itself." Dale was pointing to a red line on the map that Dr. James had purchased the night before.

"I was hoping to see what life was like in some of the smaller communities," Dr. James said with some hesitation.

"Feh," Dale countered eloquently. "We'll see enough of those as we're leaving the state. If you want to see what the Coalition is all about, you have to see Chi-Town. That's all there is to it."

"She's right," a new feminine voice added.

Everyone looked up from the map that was spread out on the hood of Dr. James's hover truck. An Asian woman decked out in medieval European armor had halted her approach several meters away. She was a little shorter than Dale but seemed to carry herself with the confidence of an experienced warrior. Her brown hair was fixed into a bun with a pair of shortened chop sticks. Her helmet was held against her hip with her right hand. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, with my cybernetic hearing and all."

She gestured to her ears as she spoke. The implants she was referring to weren't immediately obvious—it would take a careful examination of her inner ears to reveal the implants. "I happen to be headed that way myself and I was wondering if there might be room for one more among your crew."

All eyes turned to Dr. James.

He paused as he examined the new arrival carefully. Then he removed his hat and examined the interior just as carefully. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why?"

"That's simple," she replied with a smile. "There's safety in numbers and we seem to be headed in the same direction at the moment—to Chi-Town."

"What takes you there?" he asked, replacing his hat on his head and returning his attention to her face.

"Curiosity, mostly." She blushed a bit. "I guess you could say I'm something of a tourist, really. I've heard so much about the fortress city that I really wanted to see it myself."

"What can you do for us?" Dale asked, somewhat coolly.

"I can fight," the woman answered. "I'm a Cyber-Knight. I was apprenticed to Orlog who was apprenticed to Lord Coake himself." She formally bowed. "I am Lady Kym Long."

Donald's lips twitched into a grimace. "Well met, my lady."

Kym inclined her head to Donald. "And to you, sir."

Dr. James pursed his lips in thought. "Well, your motive matches ours close enough. Are you carrying any contraband?"

"No." Kym shook her head. "It didn't seem prudent to aggravate the local authorities unduly."

"Prudent." Dr. James finally smiled. "A trait I can admire. Can I ask my lady where she intends to go after her curiosity is quenched in Chi-Town?"

The young Cyber-Knight blushed a bit at Dr. James's formal address. "Well, first of all, if we're going to be travelling together, I think you should call me Kym. As for my plans after Chi-Town, I hadn't made any."

"We'll be continuing eastward." Dr. James explained. "We're out to learn and discover as much as we can about the wilderness and coast east of here, up the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Eventually we'll make our way back to New Crater City, which is a little east and south of Lazlo."

Kym's face brightened significantly. She had merely been hoping to find a group to provide increased security until Chi-Town. But this group had purpose, and a worthy one at that. "That sounds like a truly noble quest and worthy endeavor. I would be honored if you would consider me for inclusion into your number for the duration."

Dale, almost grudgingly, leaned over to whisper into Dr. James's ear. "From what I can tell, she's sincere and exactly what she appears to be." It wasn't that Dale was automatically jealous of any other woman she saw. It was just that up until now she had been the group's alpha female by default. Now a pecking order would have to be established—and Cyber-Knights by their very nature tended to be alphas.

Social pecking orders were not much more than an academic curiosity to Dr. James. Of more concern to him was ensuring the manpower needed to accomplish their mission was available. There was no denying the fighting prowess and therefore usefulness of a Cyber-Knight. "We'd be happy to have your company on our journey, Kym. I'm Dr. James, but you can call me Matt." He extended his hand to the new member of his little band.

While the two were shaking hands, Dale automatically said, "Call him Doc. Because he's not a real doctor."

Kym couldn't help but smile, "Very well, Doc."

Dr. James frowned ever so slightly, "My ever helpful sidekick here is named Dale."

"Sidekick nothing," Dale protested. "You're lucky I deign to be seen with you." She shook hands with Kym and even managed a warm smile while she did it.

Donald took Kym's hand as soon as Dale released. He raised it to his lips for a chivalrous kiss. "I am Dr. Donald Corwin, my lady. A real doctor and at your service."

"When did all my sidekicks start putting on airs?" Dr. James asked himself loud enough to be heard by all.

"Feh," Reese countered as he bumped Donald out of the way to shake Kym's hand. "You're all lucky that I let you ride my coattails." He winked at Kym. "Reese, field engineer and all around genius at your disposal."

Reese was roughly brushed aside before Kym could respond. "I am the mighty Kirk! Hailing from the distant New German Republic, I have come to this land to find adventure and the glory and fame that come with such! It is an honor to meet one of the fabled and storied Cyber-Knights!" He grasped Kym's forearm, engulfing it nearly entirely within his mighty armored fist. "At last I shall have a companion who is not so squishy!"

While Kym was being thankful for the armor that was currently keeping her bones from being crushed, Chip was raising an objection. "I am NOT squishy! Remember who beat you in that arm wrestling match?"

Kirk sighed—an impressive sight on a seven foot cyborg. It was not the first time he had come to regret letting the arrogant young juicer win that match. "Of course my friend. I meant no offense, of course."

Chip stepped up to Kym, unconsciously flexing his muscles as he did so. "Hi... I'm Chip." Suddenly shyness had gripped him and he found himself at a loss of words.

"Well met, Chip," Kym said with a smile. "I look forward to working with you."

He smiled sheepishly before stepping aside so that Ashton could step up and greet her.

Ashton didn't quite get why everyone else seemed to be tripping over themselves the way they were for Kym. He supposed that she was attractive enough although no more so than Dale was. He certainly wasn't ruled by his hormones in such a manner. "I'm Ashton Walker. I'm the group's pathfinder."

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Kym said, smiling. She felt she had been quite right about the group's basically good nature from listening in on them the night before. "I look forward to our travels together."

"Excellent. So I assume you have some form of transportation?" Dr. James asked, getting right down to business.

"Yes I do," Kym responded before whistling. Immediately a robotic horse trotted up to her side and nuzzled her. "This here is Saotome. A more loyal mount there has never been."

"I don't think I've seen that model before," Reese commented, his professional interest piqued.

"I bought it from a Titan Robotics dealer. Its armor is as thick and its legs as fleet of foot as any Northern Gun model but the personality AI surpasses anything I've ever seen before."

"It does seem to be uncommonly realistic," Reese agreed. "And Titan Robotics makes quality merchandise. Maybe not to the same level as Triax but certainly a strong contender in the robotics market regardless."

"Alright then. Let's strike camp and get moving, people," Dr. James said, taking charge of the situation.

The group was underway in less than thirty minutes. Kym joined Chip at the lead of the group.

They had little trouble finding the road that Dale had mentioned. They weren't on that road for more than an hour before they were stopped by a CS ground patrol. The patrol consisted of two armored hover cars with two troopers in each along with six additional troopers riding hover cycles not unlike the one Chip used but with more armor, a built in pulse laser, and side mounted mini-missile launchers.

"Pull over and submit to inspection," a loud speaker from one of the hover cars announced.

The small convoy did as instructed and was soon surrounded by Coalition hover vehicles. Out of one of the hover cars, an officer stepped out. "Who's in charge here?" he asked over his armor's loud speaker.

Dr. James opened his truck's door and stepped out, leaving both his sidearm and helmet inside the cab. "That would be me, sir. How can we help you?"

"Just a routine inspection," the officer replied in an officious tone as he regarded the stopped vehicles carefully. "Any D-Bee's or magic users in your party?"

"Not a one," Dr. James confirmed. "No use for traitors or invading scum."

The officer nodded in seeming approval to those words. "Good. Any contraband?"

"Hmmm, well..." Dr. James hesitated deliberately. "I'm not sure. We found some stuff in the wilderness and was hoping it would be worth something in the 'Burbs. I can show it to you, see what you think. Wouldn't want to accidently carry something that wasn't legal."

"Show it to me," the officer demanded.

"Right this way." Dr. James led the officer to the back of his own truck and pulled aside the tarp. Visible the non-CS gear the group had salvaged earlier as well as some pre-Rifts artifacts that weren't offensive to the CS. Close to the tailgate, a dozen cola cans were deliberately placed.

The officer looked in and did a quick visual examination of the visible merchandise. Almost absently, he picked up one of the cola cans. "Where did you find these?"

"In the back of someone else's truck," Dr. James admitted. "The spoils of battle."

"I see." The officer's eyes drifted to the weapons and armor. The armor was clearly patched. "What were your plans for those weapons?"

"I was thinking of selling them to human mercenaries," Dr. James replied in a sincere tone. "The artifacts all seemed harmless, so I figured I'd try to find some buyers for them as well. From what I've heard, nearly everyone in the Coalition has at least one or two trinkets from the golden age of man, so I'm not sure what I'll get for them."

"I don't," the officer said, a hint of envy sneaking into his voice as he once more looked down at the can in his hand.

"You don't?" Dr. James asked, seemingly surprised. "Then why don't you keep that? Heck, take the whole dozen for you and your squad. The way I see it, you troopers aren't rewarded nearly enough for the work you do."

The officer looked at the other cans, then to Dr. James before settling his eyes settled on the cans. Casually, he reached in and scooped them up. "Seems to me like you're running a clean operation here. You folks have a good day and try to stay out of trouble."

Dr. James nodded with a smile. "Will do, sir. You have a good day too."

The officer gave the barest nod before returning to his hover car. The patrol was up and away before Dr. James made it back to the driver's door of his hover truck.

"So what did it cost us?" Dale asked casually.

"About half our cola cans." Dr. James replied as he buckled in. "Although I'm not sure if that officer realizes if he was bribed or not. He may have taken my words at face value."

Dale snorted. "I doubt it. The troopers are mostly uneducated but their officers are usually pretty smart."

"I suppose you're right," Dr. James agreed. "Still, it wasn't bad at all."

"It's your boyish face," Dale told him. "It makes you look more honest than you are."

"As you say," Dr. James agreed as he started up his crotchety vehicle with a relative minimum of fuss.

In under an hour, the group was in sight of the Fortress City.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**The 'Burbs**

_ The so called 'Burbs around the Fortress City of Chi-Town are unlike the suburbs of most North American cities during the Golden Age of Man. They more closely resemble the slums that surrounded major cities of the so called Third World Nations. Essentially they are a massive urban sprawl of squatters._

_ The 'Burbs can be roughly divided into three rings around Chi-Town. The outer most ring is the most like the slums of old. Appropriately, these areas are referred to by the locals as shanty towns. While they tend to blend into each other, there are boundaries that the locals know very well, even if they change on a daily basis. These boundaries are the limits of gang turfs—gangs being the only real formalized organizations that exist in these regions. There can be 'levies' charged by these gangs for crossing through their turf. _

_The exceptions would be the major trade roads patrolled by the CS. These roads are always considered neutral or CS territory (the CS representing the most dangerous thugs present). The roads are kept tariff free so that important trade goods can make it to or from the fortress city itself._

_As one goes a little deeper into the urban sprawl, the makeshift shelters and tents begin to be replaced with more permanent dwellings. Although the term permanent must be used very loosely. This is a sign that you've entered the region the locals refer to as the 'New Towns'. Actual dirt, mud and gravel roads often branch off the main trade roads here. _

_Along these makeshift roads are dwellings cobbled together from whatever building materials were available. A few rare structures are properly built but are never more than five stories tall. Plumbing and electricity services are rare and sporadic and always a result of the efforts of those who inhabit the buildings. _

_Gangs and criminals are still quite common in this area although they tend to have a more 'civilized' veneer. Some New Towns are run by merchants and protected by mercenaries. A few others are run by the relatively honest citizens who live there as part of a community effort. _

_Beyond these slums are the so called 'Old Town 'Burbs'. These neighbourhoods generally have paved roads and actual, permanent buildings. Some of these buildings rise as high as ten stories. Electricity and plumbing services are much more common although there are a few areas that do without. These areas are more like small cities than any sort of slum. In that way, they more closely resemble the suburbs of old. They are often managed by citizen councils and always have some form of protection and law enforcement. If crime is present, it is all but invisible or else of the white collar sort._

_While these inner communities usually style themselves after the CS style of government, they are not officially recognized by the CS. Still, there seems to be a fair amount of cooperation between the legitimate authorities and these self styled political groups. It would seem that they have the favour of the CS. Others would say they were little more than pawns or lapdogs. _

_All of these communities, from Shanty Towns to Old Towns are considered illegal squatters by the CS. None of them, no matter how privileged or impoverished have any rights or protection under the laws of the CS. Yet the CS still enforces its laws in the most ham-fisted manner possible. _

_At their core, they are hopeful humans looking for a chance at life within the fortress city. Many will never see inside Chi-Towns walls. With them have come those who wish to profit off their situation and the unique conditions of the 'Burbs. _

_Without a doubt, there is opportunity to be had here—but great danger as well._

_-Excepted from the journal of Dr. James_

"Okay Dale." Dr. James looked over at his passenger. "Where should we go to find your contact?"

"Down the road a bit more and then we'll turn to the right." Dale supplied. "We're going to the New Towns area. Specifically, the Noir district."

"Noir?" Dr. James asked with an upturned eyebrow.

Dale shrugged. "I didn't name it. It's not even where I'm from."

"Where are you from, then?" Dr. James asked, sincerely curious. "We could visit the area if you like."

Something seemed to catch Dale's attention as she turned her head to watch out the passenger window. "It's not there anymore. It was levelled to the ground during a Coalition purge a few years ago. The territory was subsequently absorbed by the surrounding four New Towns."

"Oh." There didn't seem much more that Dr. James could say.

For her part, Dale was uncharacteristically silent as memories from not very long ago started flooding back. She had been sleeping deeply when someone's desperate shaking had finally roused her. At first she had thought that she had overslept and the sun was up as there was light coming in from the window. But a quick glance at her digital clock told her it was the middle of the night. Which explained why she was so tired.

_"Come, my little raven." Dale's mother urged, using her daughters nickname. "It's time to go."_

_ "What's going on, mom?" Dale asked as she pulled a trunk out from under her bed that contained all her gear._

_ "The Coalition is on the warpath. They're slaughtering everyone in their way." Her mom replied, helping her get the trunk open. "We don't even know who they're after, exactly."_

_ "Damn it!" Dale exclaimed at the injustice of it all. "It wasn't us, was it?"_

_ "We're pretty sure it's not." Her mother assured her. "We've been discreet. Someone else must have brought down their wrath. Regardless, if they find us, they'll kill us."_

_ "I know, I know!" Dale said frantically as she hurried to get dressed. _

_ Together with her parents, Dale had run out into the street. Only to be confronted by an advance force consisting of a Psi-Stalker and a full Dog Pack. _

_ Immediately, Dale's dad had cast a defensive barrier to soak the initial barrage from the CS troops. Her mother grabbed Dale and pressed a ring into her palm. "Take this and run! Use the spell your father taught you and get away from here!"_

_ Dale knew the ring she'd just been given. Without it, her parent's power would be depleted greatly. "No mom! You and dad have to use this to fight back!"_

_ Her father continued casting defensive incantations while her mother continued to urge Dale to flee. "No! You must survive! You have a destiny to fulfill. Now fly away from here, little Raven." Then she turned and joined her husband in battle against the Coalition forces._

_ Tears streaking down her cheek, Dale turned and ran down an alley, placing the ring on her finger as she did so. Casting her father's spell and transferring her magical essence into the ring would allow her to evade the psychics but there were still the rest of the CS forces razing the area to the ground to contend with._

"Is that the turn off, up there?" Dr. James' voice broke Dale out of her recollections.

"You mean that black sign on the right that says, 'Noir?'" Dale asked with her usual humour. "Yeah, that would be it."

Dr. James grimaced at her sarcasm as he told the convoy to pull in over the radio.

Almost immediately after turning off the paved trade road onto the gravel access way, the small convoy was confronted by a 'toll booth'. It was made with reinforced materials and manned by obvious gang members. There was a sign that had symbols for people and vehicles and corresponding costs for entry.

"At least they seem organized." Dr. James said with some appreciation. If he was going to be shaken down for passage money, he preferred it was by professionals with some method of standardization. It felt less like robbery that way.

The tolls were reasonable and the convoy passed through without incident. Dr. James vehicle assumed the lead while Dale fed him directions. "So what gang runs this area?" He asked in between directions.

"They call themselves the 'Runners'." Dale replied, sounding almost bored. "Their claim to fame is that they will 'run' just about anything right under the noses of the CS. Including Dead-boy armour and weapons or those wanted by the authorities. Despite their apparent disdain for authority, they're generally honest in their dealings and have a decent reputation."

"Do they have syndicate connections?" Inquired Dr. James as he turned down a lane indicated by a hand motion from Dale.

"They must although they don't talk about it." Dale said with the same bored tone. "And you shouldn't either."

"Gotcha." Dr. James nodded to her advice.

In short order they were pulling up in front of an indoor garage. "This place is secure. The fee is reasonable and they'll keep our vehicles secure."

"What about our weapons and armour?" Dr. James wanted to know.

"If you want to wander around this part of the 'Burbs with neither, than more power to you—because you'll need it!" Dale said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "People will either assume you're a city slicker and a chump or else some sort of sorcerer that doesn't need artificial protection. Neither are assumptions you want people around here making about you."

"Right." Dr. James agreed as he started to realize just how far out of his element he really was.

The entrance of the garage was automated so all that Dr. James had to do was swipe his debit card and punch in his pin code to have the credits deducted. Then he drove in. The vehicles behind him in the convoy did likewise and the group found an area within the garage where they could all park together.

"Alright folks, I'll be going with Dale to arrange the sale of our illegal merchandise. The rest of you can split up and explore a bit since it's what we're here for. Just stay in groups of two or more, alright?" Dr. James' gaze drifted over the faces of his comrades.

There was a chorus of nods and "Gothcha's" before the group walked off, staying more or less together.

"I guess that just leaves us." Dale said as she watched the others walk away.

"Looks like." Dr. James agreed. "I suppose we should go meet your contact now."

"Alright." Dale took the lead in departing the secured garage. "I hope you have a list of what you want to sell." She said over her shoulder.

"I do, complete with pictures." Dr. James agreed. "I figure once we can agree on some prices, we can arrange delivery." He paused for a moment. "So what's your contacts name, anyway?"

"He calls himself Blade." Dale replied with a shrug. "He alleges that his preferred weapon is a vibro-knife he lifted off a Coalition officer. Of course he carries a blaster too and that's what he actually goes for in a fight."

"Not the sort to bring a knife to a gun fight?" Dr. James asked with a smile.

"Oh, he'll bring a knife. And a gun, a grenade, a rocket launcher and whatever else he can lay his hands on. Especially if it falls into the category of dirty tricks." Dale responded with some fondness showing in her voice.

"Hmmph." Was all the response Dr. James gave and they continued on in silence for a bit.

Shortly they were in front of a rough and tumble bar. It was made of sea containers that were bolted together and their inner walls removed to make for a larger inner space. The cans were stacked six wide, three deep and two high. There were a pair of obvious Juicers acting as bouncers out front. They glowered at the pair until one of them recognized the energetic mage. "Dale! What brings you back around this corner of the 'Burbs?"

"Hey Rocky." She gave the big muscle-bound man a hug. "Glad to see you ain't heard last call yet."

"I got a year or two yet." He said good naturedly and not at all concerned about discussing his last days. "You here to see Blade?"

She nodded and then jerked her thumb to Dr. James. "The square is with me. He's got some junk to unload."

Rocky nodded. "Alright, head on in. He's at his usual table." With that he stepped aside and let the pair enter.

Inside the makeshift bar, light was dim, the music loud and the patrons rowdy. There were two fights going on between patrons that were more or less being ignored by the clubs alleged security. The clientele were mostly non-human humanoids, so called D-Bee's.

Dr. James was somewhat uncomfortable both with the obvious criminal nature of the establishment as well as the large ratio of D-Bee's to humans. Dale didn't seemed fazed at all and led him to a table in a dark corner. There were half a dozen young men present who laughing and drinking. The seated young men looked up as the pair approached.

One of them recognized Dale and immediately stood up. "Dale! Long time no see!"

She gave the man a hug with casual ease. "Hey Blade. Good to see you again. Got time for an old friend and some business?"

"I'd rather have time for an old friend and some pleasure." He glanced at Dr. James over his shoulder. "Let me guess, the square is the business."

"Yeah." Dale agreed as she pulled back a bit. "He needs to sell some contraband with as few questions as possible. I was hoping you could maybe hook him up. He's a friend."

Blade seemed to consider this for a moment and then he smiled and extended his hand to Dr. James. "Any friend of Dale's as a welcome client here." After shaking hands he snapped his fingers at a nearby table. A tall scrawny and pale D-Bee stood up and joined them. "Collax, this here is a client looking to unload some merchandise. He's a friend of Dale's so give him the friend and family rates."

Collax nodded and gestured for Dr. James to join him at his table. Dr. James gave Dale a questioning look and then allowed himself to be led away at her nod.

A new chair was quickly brought to Blade's table, beside Blade himself and Dale took her seat there as though it had been there all along.

"I'm surprised you came back to the Burbs." Blade observed as he sat back down. "It's not safe here for mages. You'd think you'd clue into that years ago, after what happened to your parents."

"And it's any safer for you? Dealing in CS gear like you do? Dead is dead buddy, don't matter the reasons why." She countered with a smile.

"Yeah, fair enough." He conceded. "So how long you sticking around?"

"Don't know yet." She shrugged. "The square is calling the shots. I think we'll be here for a few days at least. He was talking about trying to get a day pass into the Fortress proper."

"Right into Chi-Town? Just like that?" Blade laughed. "Quite the optimist you got yourself caught up with." Then he leaned forward. "So are you and him…?"

"Jealous?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Not that it's your business but we're just friends."

"Hey, I make the welfare of my friends my business, you know?" He said defensively. "Besides, I wouldn't mind getting back together…"

She shook her head. "It was fun, Blade. And I'll always remember the great times we had but we're too much awesome to be in the same place for too long. There's already too many tears in the fabric of reality as it is. We owe it to civilization not to make matters worse."

"This is about that blonde, isn't it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This is about the blonde." Dale agreed.

"Good to know you don't hold grudges." He laughed.

"You had your chance buddy." She crossed her arms across her chest. "I may be willing to forgive but only a fool forgets."

"Alright, alright." Blade held up his hands defensively. "Just don't turn me into a toad or anything."

"We'll see how fairly you treat my friend." She took a sip of her just delivered drink. "Otherwise I'm not taking anything off the table."

Blade leaned back in his chair. "Well, you're as loyal as ever." He nodded approvingly. "Don't worry, we'll deal fairly with him. On account of him being a friend of yours. And also on account of me not needing warts and a taste for flies."

Dale nodded. "Good. So you got any juicy news for me? I have the script to pay."

"Still interested in the same sort of targets?" He asked as his face became serious.

"Yes." Dale nodded once more.

"Well in that case you might be interested to know one of the locals is a necromancer. He goes by the name Lenny. That part we know for a fact because he's been collecting the dead and reanimating them. About once a month he meets up with an out of town mage. Different mage each time and rarely human. He's pretty low key around here but we've done quite a bit of business with us. He sells us damaged CS armour and captured weapons. He's willing to take cut rate prices for them, too."

"You think he could be Federation?" Dale whispered, leaning forward eagerly.

Blade nodded as he also leaned in. "Yeah. That's the big rumour. A very credible rumour if you ask me. Frankly the guy is creepy as all hell and definitely has a grudge against the CS that goes beyond monetary exploitation."

"That's pretty much every mage on the continent." Dale said with a light chuckle.

"Except you." Blade countered.

"Oh, I have a grudge against the CS, alright." Her voice turned hard and cold. "I'll never forgive them for what they did to my parents." Dale took a deep breath through gritted teeth and then finally unclenched her jaw. "I don't blame the people or even the soldiers of the Coalition. It's their current government and administration that is the problem. The rest are just pawns and dupes. And scum like this mage you're telling me about only fan the flames of hate. That's why I target his sort. Especially if they're from the Federation of Magic. They're the ones who are really responsible for the current state of affairs."

"Right, right." Blade shrugged. "It's your business of course. But I don't think your efforts will ever be appreciated. They just make more enemies."

"I can live with that." Dale leaned back into her chair.

"That's just it." Blade countered. "I don't think you can. Sooner or later it's going to catch up with you. Ya gotta have friends to watch your back, girl."

"You're my friend, aren't ya, Blade?" She asked without really doubting the answer. "And the Doc over there is too. Don't you worry about me. I've got friends and making more all the time. Now give me the dirt on this thrice damned necromancer or I'll hold you down and tickle you in front of all _your_ big tough friends."

Blade laughed easily though he didn't doubt his friends threat. He pulled out a map from his coat pocket. "This is the most recent layout of the area. We're here and the necromancer is here to the north. Next shanty over."

For the next hour Dale pumped Blade for information while Dr. James negotiated the sale of illegal contraband as well as a place to make the exchange. Once the details of the exchange were agreed on, Dr. James walked over to Dale's side.

"All done and ready to go when you are." He informed her.

"Not going to stick around for a drink?" Blade asked cheerfully.

"No, I'd rather get the exchange out of the ay as soon as possible. And there's other things I want to see." Dr. James looked down at Dale. "how about you? All done here?"

Dale nodded to the disappointment of Blade. "Yeah. I've got business to tend to as well." She stood up and walked out with Dr. James.

When they were outside, he finally asked her, "So what sort of business do you have while we're here?"

She shifted uneasily. "I'd rather not say. The less you know, the better."

"Unlikely." He quickly disagreed. "Look Dale, I don't know what it is you have to do but I do know this. You're not just a paid helper on this mission. You're a friend. Not just to me but to the others as well. If there's something you need to deal with, then we're all going to want to help. _I_ want to help."

Dale studied him for a moment. "It'll be dangerous."

"Our whole trip has been dangerous." He replied easily.

"It's a necromancer." Dale continued to study his reaction.

"What have you got against them?" He asked curiously.

"It's a necromancer." Dale repeated as though that settled the matter.

"Well then, let's go see the others and make plans to deal with this foul purveyor in the dead." Dr. James squared his shoulders and set off back to their vehicles.

Dale followed along behind him, considering his words and the ease with which he offered her his support. Blade had said that she needed friends who would watch her back. She had indicated that the Doc was such a friend. She had been speaking facetiously but now realized that she had been inadvertently correct. It made her wonder just how far she could trust him and how far he would support her. Would he remain by her side if he knew her secret?

Dale shook her head. There was no way she could ever reveal that to him. Ever. It would mean betraying her family and everything they had stood for over three generations. It would make the sacrifice of her parents meaningless.

Dr. James was unaware of Dale's inner turmoil. He simply agreed with the sentiment that necromancers should not be suffered to live. They used magic to rob the dead of their dignity and final rest. They often also cavorted with dark and unnatural powers. Always they were feared and loathed.

The others hadn't returned when the pair arrived back in the garage. So they grabbed Dr. James' hover truck and prepared the goods they were planning to sell. Dr. James had arranged for Blade's fellow gang members to come for the contraband right in the garage. It worked for the gang because they controlled the garage. It worked for the Doc, because it was convenient.

They were no sooner done when 'representatives' from the Runners arrived. They examined the goods to ensure that they were as promised. Then the provided the Doc with a preloaded debit card. He checked to ensure the promised funds were on it. Then they shook hands and the representatives went on their way. It was a routine transaction, with hundreds like it taking place in the Chi-Town Burbs every day. Most went off without a hitch as this one had but a significant fraction also went awry. Everyday illegal transactions turned into brawls and murder. Such was the danger of dealing with the black market or trafficking in anything the Coalition States considered to be contraband.

It was only a short while after that, only an hour before sundown, that the rest of the group returned. They had all managed to stay out of any serious trouble.

"Welcome back folks. Find anything interesting?" Dr. James greeted them.

"Yeah." Reese agreed. "Less than a block away is a secure hotel and tavern. We can spend the night there in safety."

"Sounds good." Dr. James agreed. "After we check in, I'd like to talk to everyone about something that needs to be done."

"I hope we're going to see some action, Doc." Chip said with a heavy heave of his chest. He craved a reason to feel the rush of chemicals through his veins.

Dr. James smiled. "Definitely."

A little after sundown the group was gathered in Dr. James' room. "Alright. So here's the situation folks. Dale has learned about a necromancer operating not far from here. Since the info comes from her contact who also gave us such good prices on our trade goods, I think we can spare the time to deal with this situation. So we'll make plans tonight and then tomorrow we'll go shopping for anything we might need to make those plans a reality."

"I don't think I need to tell anyone here what a problem necromancers pose to all." Dr. James continued. "They defile our dead, cavort with dark powers and unleash unholy and evil monsters into the world. They are a corrupt force that in addition to their regular evils despoil the reputations of honest mages such as our Dale here. Every one of the lunatics we put into the ground, makes the world a better place by virtue of their absence from it."

Everyone nodded with what Dr. James was saying. Even amongst those that embraced magic, necromancers were seen as misguided at best and dangerously perverted at worst. Even Kym as a Cyber-Knight and therefore a righteous champion of justice, agreed that this vile sorcerer had to be put down. Hard and fast.

Dale stood up and started to relay what she had learned from Blade. "Lenny, as he's known, seems to have a special hate on for the Coalition. Not really surprising really. They're not exactly my best buds either. In any case, he has apparently created half a dozen zombies and equipped them all in CS gear. Apparently his idea of a joke, making a pun of their 'Dead Boy' nickname I guess."

"He is also known to summon creatures of shadow. So an assault at night is ill advised. His other abilities vary depending on the… components he has available at any given time. Of course in addition to his abilities as a necromancer, he has a range of other, more combative spells to draw on." Dale looked around at all her friends, glad that they seemed eager to help with this. "It's impossible to know what spells he has exactly though."

"Do you think you can counter his arcane abilities?" Kym asked Dale.

"Yes, I can." Dale was quite confident in that respect.

"What about the Dead Boys?" Ashton asked. "Any Dogboys or Psi-Stalkers in the area are sure to be drawn to a mystic duel between Dale and a necromancer."

Dr. James nodded. "They are a factor. We're hoping that we can get in and eliminate the necromancer before the CS has a chance to get a fix on us."

Chip snorted. "What a waste. We're doing them a favor and it's likely that they'd jump at the chance to get in our way."

"They don't see it as us doing them a favor, Chip." Dr. James explained. "They see it as one group of traitors fighting it out with another group. They won't stop to ask us our motives if we're sided with a mage."

"No offense to Dale but maybe she should sit this one out then?" Reese suggested.

"As much as I agree with the sentiment," Donald interjected, "we need her ability to counter the necromancer's magic."

"I'm the one getting us involved in this." Dale added. "It's only fair that I share the risk."

"Alright. So it's settled, Dale is coming with us. Now before we go any further, is there anyone who doesn't want in on this?" Dr. James looked around at his travelling companions. "This fight isn't necessarily everyone's. And it's not part of our original mission parameters. So if anyone wants to opt out, that's fine. I won't hold it against any of you."

"Kirk is with you." The mighty cyborg said heartily. His declaration was soon followed by a chorus of others who were just as eager to participate.

"So it's agreed. We're going to get Lenny." Dr. James nodded. "That being the case we're going to make sure that everyone has at least one light source as well as fire. If we mount lights on our weapons, that should help weaken the shadow creatures. And of course we'll need fire to destroy the zombies. Dale, is there anything you can think of?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so. Maybe some silver weapons if you don't have them already. Just in case Lenny is working with vampires or similar creatures. Actually I'll make a list of things that all of you should have with you anyway. Not just for Lenny the Necromancer but for a wide assortment of supernatural nasty's we might run across in the wilderness."

"So when should we do this thing?" Chip asked, ready to go right then and there.

"Tomorrow we buy supplies. And since night raids are ill advised, we'll wait until the morning the day after tomorrow to conduct our little raid. That'll also give us a chance to do some scouting. Dale, why don't you take Kym, Chip and Ashton to do some reconnaissance?"

"Sure, when?" She asked.

"Tonight and tomorrow night seem like good times." Dr. James said after some quick thought.

"Alright!" Chip said, glad to be seeing some action.

The next thirty hours were spent preparing for the planned raid. During the preparations, Ashton managed to slip away a couple of times for a few hours each time. The first time was to make contact with CS intelligence to share what he knew. The second time was to meet with an NCO from his platoon. They met in a New Town bar by previous arrangement. He wasn't surprised when he saw which NCO had been sent to meet with him.

"Diana." He greeted her when he sat down. Normally he wouldn't have used the Sgt's first name but they couldn't afford to reveal their rank and identities publicly. "It's good to see you again."

She smiled at him. He was young but had proven himself both very competent and loyal. Two traits she found quite commendable. "You too, Ashton. We were all quite glad to hear from you. But Vicky thinks I should join you on your travels."

"Wait, we're continuing the observation" Ashton asked, confused. "I reported that it's a ring that lets her hide her nature. We should strike."

Diana shook her head. "No. We still don't know who she works for or if there are others with similar rings. Until we do we could be missing a chance to foil a larger conspiracy against the Coalition States. As long as she's under surveillance and not posing an immediate threat to the interests of the CS, then she's not a threat. So we continue to observe and wait to see if she leads us to more or bigger fish."

Ashton nodded. A part of him was relieved. He had grown to like Dale despite his training and experiences battling her kind. That made the other part of him quite uneasy. It was true what his superiors said. The allure of magic was insidious. "Alright. So how are we supposed to get you into the group?"

"Our analysis indicates that the group could use a psychic of my calibre. In fact being a psychic should block any suspicion that I might have a connection to the CS. All that leaves is an introduction." She looked at him meaningfully.

"I suppose I could have helped you evade harassment by a dog pack." He suggested.

"That works. I won't be joining up until after your little raid against the necromancer. Victoria wants me with her to see what I sense during the raid. In fact the whole platoon will be on standby in case things don't go as planned with the necromancer." Diana looked around for a moment. No one seemed to be taking any interest in the pair. "The fact is, there was already an operation in place to take the necromancer out. There's a strong suspicion that they're affiliated with the Federation of Magic."

Ashton raised a brow at her. "I thought that they were all wiped out."

Diana shook her head. "Recent intel suggests otherwise."

"Alright." Ashton sighed while he thought. "I guess I can run into you the day after and then make introductions."

"Works for me." Diana agreed. "I'll meet up with you here."

The morning of the raid came and the group started on their way to the necromancer's lair. Only Ashton was aware of the Coalition surveillance of their trek. It comforted him but would have disconcerted the others.

Earlier reconnaissance had revealed that the necromancer's sanctuary was bunker made out of salvaged military grade armor stripped off armoured vehicles and robots. It had some basic electronic security measures but it was mostly by magical means that it was defended.

There were no windows in the entire structure and only two doors present. Ashton would booby trap the back door and then watch it from a nearby derelict building. Reese, Matthew and Donald would stay him as both an extra set of eyes and some additional firepower in case the necromancer made a break for it.

The plan called for Dale to lead the others in the front door once the back door crew were in place. Dale would disable the magical defenses while all the hitters did their job and destroyed anything that moved.

Matthew waited with the rest, watching the back door. Ashton had set up a couple of fusion blocks attached to a tripwire out the egress. He claimed that he had purchased them on the black market but the truth was the he was provided them by his superiors for just this purpose.

They received a radio signal telling them that the assault crew were making their move. Further confirmation came in the form of the sounds of rail gun fire courtesy of Kirk and unholy howls that were no doubt originating with the shadow beasts under the necromancers control.

The battle was taking longer than expected. Reports were coming over the radio from the assault team. There were far more zombies in CS gear than had been expected. But they were pushing them back. Dale was also successfully frustrating the necromancers attempts to cast any meaningful magic.

Finally the door flew open and the fusion blocks exploded, sending bits of armored zombie in every direction. The smoke cleared and all anyone could see was an open space in the doorway. Inside, the assault team was finishing off the last of the zombies and shadow beasts.

"He's there, in the door!" Came a woman's voice suddenly from behind them. "Shoot!"

Ashton didn't hesitate as he recognized Diana's voice and was accustomed to obeying her orders. Not being able to see his opponent for an accurate shot, he decided to fill the area in front of the door with 25mm grenades launched from his JA-12.

The other three followed suite, using pulse lasers fired in random patterns. They didn't know who this strange woman was but at the moment at least their goals seemed to coincide.

"Follow my trace!" She yelled and then fired a Northern Gun built plasma cannon where she could plainly see the necromancer with her psychic vision.

Soon the others followed her example and the necromancer went down in a hail of laser and plasma fire.

"Thanks for your help stranger." Dr. James said as he turned to face the woman.

She was in rugged bushman armor and she was already pulling off her helmet. The woman had long black hair and was quite attractive. "I'm the one that should be thanking you guys. I've been waiting for my chance to get revenge on that fiend since he dug up may parents and… and…" She choked on the words and paused.

Dr. James' face was understanding. "It's okay. We're glad you came to help anyway."

The woman seemed to shake herself out of it. "Anyway, last night I had a premonition that tonight I would have an opportunity to avenge them. So I figured I'd stake the place out and see what happened."

"Good thing you did." Ashton said, just a little miffed at the sudden change in plans. "He might have got away, otherwise."

She nodded. "I'm Diana, by the way. And in case you haven't guessed it, I'm a psychic, specializing in sensitive abilities though I have some talent with telekinesis as well."

Dale led the assault group to the rear guards position. "Hey, you guys got him. Good." Then her eyes turned to Diana. "Oh, hi there."

"This is Diana." Dr. James made a quick introduction. "She was the one that helped us spot the invisible necromancer. She's a psychic."

Dale smiled at her, "well, glad you showed up and helped out then."

"You're welcome." Diana returned the smile just as mechanically as Dale had offered it.

"I guess we should check out the plunder." Dr. James said. "You're welcome to a fair share if want." He informed Diana.

She nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate that." Then she paused. "who are you folks, anyway?"

"Just a group of folks who've banded together to explore North America a bit." He smiled at her. "I'm Dr. James."

"We all just call him Doc." Dale informed the new girl as they headed back to the necromancer's bunker.

Introductions with the others were made as the bunker was looted of anything of value. The corpses and body parts were all cremated as was accepted in the era of necromancers and animated dead. As they worked, they talked.

Donald, especially, seemed interested in their new acquaintance. By the time they were done, he was all but begging Dr. James to let her join their party.

"Well, what do you think Doc? Want to ask her to join us? We could use a psychic of her capabilities."

"I suppose it doesn't hurt that she happens to look like some sort of model." Dr. James quipped.

"Hadn't noticed." Donald lied while blatantly watching her bend over to pick up what appeared to be a piece of jewellery that had fallen off one of the zombies.

"Right." Dr. James said with a smile. "If she's willing to work for the pittance we offer, then I'm fine with it."

"So you're going to ask her?" Donald asked with an excited smile.

"Possibly you should." Dr. James countered.

"Even better." Donald agreed and strode over to ask Diana if she was interested in joining them.

Of course she was. It has been the whole point of having her help them with the necromancer, though she didn't relate that fact. She reasoned it would probably only upset them to learn that the Coalition States now had two spies in their midst and one of them could read minds.


End file.
